The Life of Charonus: Book 1 Kanto
by Charonus-Rex
Summary: This is a story about a Charmander named Charonus. In this story he meets new friends, powerful enemies, and learns how to control the dangerous power he has within himself.
1. Chapter 1

**Book 1: Kanto Saga**

This is my story, cliche start I know, but I like it...so there. This story starts off where all biographies usually do, with the birth of the person, or in this case Charmander in question.

 **Chapter 1: The Beginning and Ending of Life in Kanto**

It all starts in a little area of the Kanto region known as the Seafoam Islands. Now don't let the ice caves there fool you, there is a spot close enough to a volcano to make living possible for fire types like me. Anyway, back to the story. My birth was like any other Pokemon birth, from an egg and uneventful. Looking up from my egg I see my parents, two powerfully looking Charizards. They look back down at me, smiling a toothy grin that is typical of my species. The female Charizard leans down to nuzzle me, making me feel safe. Just then a commotion is heard close by. Something that I came to learn later, what is called an explosion, shakes the cavern walls. Muffled voices are heard in the distance shouting something. My father steps forward to check what the commotion is all about. He leaves my field of view and several moments later a billowing roar can be heard coming from where he walked to. My mother instantly looks up with dread on her face as a net descends not long after the roar, capturing her and myself inside.

My view of the outside world is blocked by my mother holding me tight against her chest within the net as we are dragged outside the cavern I called home for only a short few moments. I hear several voices shouting. One voice says something about "We must keep this male under control, lest he burn the ship down!" Another voice, more sinister in tone says "These Charizards will make fine research specimens. As for the Charmander, lock him up once at the lab. I want these two at there most ferocious for the experimentation. It makes for better test data, and seeing their offspring in peril is just the motivation." Another voice chimes out "Understood sir." Still more voices are heard nearby as the net my mother and myself are in is dragged aboard said ship. I hear another voice shout out "Subdue that Charizard now! Use the tranquilizers if you must! Get those fires put out as well before we have no ship left!" Several shots are heard from tranquilizer guns, my mother watching as the darts hit my father squarely in the chest. Not long after he falls to the deck of the ship and is dragged away into the ships hold.

Not long after that, my mother and I get thrown into the hold of the ship beside my father. I happen to get a glimpse of him, his eyes glazed over. The tranquilizer darts still sticking out of his chest. My mother regains her hold on me, looking into my eyes with sadness. The look of fear showing, unsure of why these people came and captured us, or what they plan to do with us. The boat ride was long and turbulent. Despite Cinnabar Island being a short way from Seafoam Islands, a storm had settled in between which made traversing the waters very treacherous for man and Pokemon alike. I overheard some of the people saying that this was no ordinary storm, that someone or something was mad for their transgression in capturing us and other Pokemon I didn't know were on board. Another voice chimes in "Stop with all this superstitious talk, this is just a normal storm, nothing more. We make land fall at Cinnabar in two hours. Make sure all our 'guests' are ready to disembark. Especially that male Charizard, he will be first in the experimentation."

The rest of the boat ride was turbulent, yet uneventful, except for some pained growls and roars from some of the other Pokemon who got too rowdy and were shocked with some sort of pole containing electricity. My mother kept me in a tight hug the entire way, never letting me leave her side, sometimes holding me tighter when one of the people would walk by. I manage to look over and see one of the men clearly enough. A somewhat tall man wearing all black, a giant red R emblazoned on his shirt. I didn't know what it all meant at the time, but later I found out that it was a criminal organization named Team Rocket. They were gathering Pokemon from all over the Kanto region, some being sent to the lab on Cinnabar Island to have experiments done on them. I hear some of the men on the boat move about as an order comes down to secure the Pokemon for arrival to the lab. I look at my mom and see the same look as before, she then looks at father, a tear rolling down her face as if she knows she won't make it out of this.

I feel the movement of the boat slow down some, then come to a complete stop. My mother keeps me close ever still as some men surround us. I hear one person say "Get the Charmander and lock him away, if the mother resists, tranquilize her as well." My mother looks down at me with sadness as if she knows she can't stop this. One of the dark clothed men yanks me from her grasp and carries me off to lock me up. My mother lets out a saddened roar, but doesn't resist the Rocket grunts. I lose sight of both of them as I am taken into the lab and put in one of the cages they have set aside for Pokemon. Looking over I see other Pokemon, a Pikachu here, a Sandshrew there, even a small Articuno, possibly from the Ice Caverns of Seafoam. I keep looking around, eventually seeing a giant window where I can see several larger Pokemon, an Onix, a Gyarados, a Lapras, even my parents together in the same cage. I stare at my parents, tears welling up in my eyes since I am so far away from them. A Cubone in the cage next to me comes a bit closer "Are those your parents?" I look over and slowly shake my head yes, he sighs a little. "Big Pokemon like that usually don't last long here due to the experiments they perform here...I recently lost my mother to these people. All I have to remember her by is the last words she said to me...telling me to grow strong and protect others from this kind of torture." Still to this day, far removed from these times I'm telling you about, those words resonate to my core being, words I adopted from that Cubone. I look towards the Cubone, my tears unable to be held back now, as I ask what happens to the small Pokemon here. The Cubone looks sternly at me, telling me that the small ones, the Pikachus, Cubones and the like are used to keep the big Pokemon fed until they have no more use for them. I step back, shocked by this response. "How could these people be such monsters?!" The Cubone looks down and sighs again. "It is all in the search for the most powerful of traits within them, when the trait wanted is found, the big Pokemon are killed and genetic samples taken to be implanted into their greatest work." He points towards a glowing tube off in the distance, something can be seen inside but it is too far away to make out clearly.

The Cubone corrects himself a bit. "It's not really genetic samples, but something like it, some sort of crystal that resides within every Pokemon, big or small. It is like a condensed form

of all the energy, potential and ability a Pokemon possesses. The thought of Team Rocket is that only the big Pokemon have the best attributes within these crystals, but this is wrong. " At that moment a Pokemon that is not native to the region, a Riolu speaks up. "I have been reading the aura of all of the new arrivals, yes, even you young Charmander. Out of everyone here, you seem to have a deep power locked inside you, a power that even dwarfs the experiment they are making. Be sure to take care of yourself well, people will use this against you to claim it for their own if you are careless." I listen to this Riolu's words, wondering how such power could reside in a newly hatched Charmander, a scientist walking up to the cages snaps me out of my thoughts. "Bring some of these Pokemon, our big Charizard guests seem a bit hungry. Maybe a meal of Pikachu and Cubone will sate their appetites." The Cubone looks at me as his cage is opened. "Don't worry about me...I resigned to my fate a while back. I leave you now with my mothers words...may you have the power to do what I could not." I watch as the Cubone is picked up and carted off, as well as several other Pokemon to feed my parents. "I will hold your mother's words to heart...I'm just sorry I can't save you from this..." The scientist looks at me and smiles. "Noisy little things these Pokemon are, well they will be silent soon enough."

I look back through the large window as the scientist comes into view with the grunts that hold the small Pokemon. The Scientist smiles as he taps on the cage, waking my father and getting the attention of my mother. "Well my new Charizard friends, time to eat up and get your strength back. I need you two in fighting form for the experiments to come, hehe." My father looks at the scientist with anger, my mother looks on with disdain. I can hear my father yell out to the scientist. "Where is my son, where is Charonus!" My mother tries to calm my father, but to no avail. The scientist smiles some. "Too bad I don't know what you are roaring about, but I do have an idea, and you will see him soon enough, maybe as your next meal, maybe not." My father stops for a moment, not believing that these people would be so heartless as to feed their own children to them. The grunt holding the Cubone opens their cage and tosses him inside, the other Pokemon they were holding are tossed in as well. "Eat well you two, the experiments start tomorrow and I want you in top form." My parents look down at the smaller Pokemon and sigh. The Cubone looks up at them. "It is quite alright...we have resigned to our fates, not having the power within ourselves to get out of here, but maybe there will be one that can. It is a high possibility that your young Charonus was it...young Charonus may have the power to free everyone here from this groups grasp." My father lowers his head down to the small Cubone. "I hope you are right, like you I do believe he is special and I want to protect him in any way I can..." My mother nuzzles my father, then looks down at the Cubone. "Thank you for your sacrifice, if we make it out of here, my family will make sure your lives are remembered." With that, I turn away as my parents reluctantly make a meal out of the small Pokemon. With tears welling up in my eyes once more, I steel my resolve to make sure atrocities like this never happen to other Pokemon, but little did I know that the worst was yet to come, driving this little Charmander to a rage that he will only experience one other time in his life.

The next day I awaken in my cage to the sound of roars and breaths of fire. I immediately stand up and look into the window, seeing my parents standing inside a battle ring with the Onix and Gyarados I saw the other day in cages. The ring is partitioned off into two halves, one contains my mother and the Onix, the other has my father and the Gyarados in it. A fierce battle is taking place as my parents look battered from the other Pokemon they are fighting. I try to hold back tears again as I witness my father get struck by a Thunderbolt attack from the Gyarados, knocking him down to the ground. The Gyarados unleashes another attack, this time a Hyperbeam, narrowly missing as my father manages to dodge. I take a closer look at the Gyarados and realize that he's crying as he fights, not wanting to fight for the scientist watching on the sidelines, but unable to resist due to controller implants on him. The battle between my mother and the Onix is not faring much better as the Onix uses Rock Slide against her, my mother narrowly escapes, but a rock manages to damage her wing, making her unable to fly. The Onix looks squarely into her eyes, speaking to her through clenched teeth, "Please...end...us...in anyway...possible. " The Gyarados speaks up, "We don't...want to be...used...like this, We will...resist as long as...we can, that should...give you two...the opening you...need" "Please, end our...suffering" I hear the Onix say as the two Pokemon suddenly tense up, resisting the commands given by the devices. The scientist looks on at this display "Well, even with the control implants at their full power, these two still manage to resist. Impressive indeed, but I am prepared for this." He goes to a control panel nearby and overcharges the control implants, making the Gyarados and Onix lose all self-control and wildly attack. My parents dodge as best they can, narrowly avoiding the savage attacks of the two Pokemon. I see them look at each other and nod, electricity crackling in my fathers closed fist, and what solar energy that can be seen, collecting over my mothers wings and into her maw. The Gyarados strikes again, my father moving to the side and striking hard into the Pokemon's side with Thunder Punch, knocking the Gyarados down in one hit, impressing the scientist. Meanwhile my mother has gathered all she can and watches for her opportunity to strike. The Onix, in it's rage comes in and tries to coil around my mother. My mother opens her maw wide and unleashes her held Solar Beam, taking the Onix down hard. My parents collapse after this, their energy spent. The scientist smiles and slowly claps "Excellent, well done my Charizard subjects. You two may just have what we are looking for, what we need to complete our ultimate experiment. Our last one may have been a failure, but this one will be sheer perfection once we harvest your Poke Core, the soul of your being." Just then a light comes on over the tube in the back of the area, cascading over a form familiar, yet not to my parents. "May I present to you two, the perfect genetic Pokemon, Shadow Mewtwo." The scientist smirks as my parents lose consciousness finally from their exhaustion. "Run the final set of tests on these two, lets see if they are truly worthy to be a part of Shadow Mewtwo."

I watch as my parents are strapped town to tables that appear seemingly from nowhere and equipment descends from the area above. "Remove that Gyarados and Onix, I won't be needing them any longer, all that concerns me is these Charizards and their Poke Cores. Also bring me their offspring, I want it to see this" The grunts remove the knocked out Pokemon, one of the grunts comes towards the small Pokemon holding area and opens my cage. I take this opportunity to unleash a powerful Ember attack, scarring the grunt badly and knocking him out. The other Pokemon look at me, asking me to help them get free. As quickly as I can, I melt the locks keeping their cages shut. The other Pokemon now free, start to head out, trying to get out of the lab before more of the Rocket grunts show up. The Riolu stays behind, giving me a concerned look. "Thank you for freeing us, but be careful...I have a feeling that something bad will happen in the near future with you. I can read it in the aura." I look back at him, "All I care about now is getting my parents out of here and back to Seafoam Islands, our home...I hope I'm not too late. " With that, I make haste on getting to the ground floor of the building to where my parents are, hoping that I am not too late to save them.

The scientist looks over monitors as he scans over my parents, noting how my father has exceptional physical ability, my mother having excellent special ability. "Yes, these numbers are beyond expectations, no wonder they managed to do so well against that Gyarados and Onix. Their Poke Cores are just what is needed for Shadow Mewtwo to be complete." At that moment I step onto the lab floor, looking at the scientist, the fires of rage showing in my emerald green eyes. "Well, looks like the little Charmander managed to get away from the grunt I sent. No matter, you came here just the same." He presses a nearby button, a claw from above descends and grabs me, lifting me up in perfect view of my parents but unable to do anything to help them. "I'm glad you are here to witness this, your parents will soon be a part of something greater. They will be a part of pure perfection, but for that to happen they will have to cast aside these Charizard shells to be reborn as part of my greatest experiment." He points over to Shadow Mewtwo. I'm able to see it clearer now, little crystals floating around his form and being absorbed into his chest. I try to struggle free from the claw that holds me, but to no avail. Even Ember is useless to this claws grip on me. The scientist smiles as surgical tools descend over my parents chests. "With these two Poke Cores, my lives work will be complete. Taking over from that last scientist whose Mewtwo experiment failed has proven fruitful for me. I will soon be world renowned!" He laughs maniacally as he presses the button to begin the programmed surgical procedure. I still try to break free as I see the surgical tools start to operate on my parents, all my struggles being futile as I watch with tears in my eyes, seeing the procedure in all it's cruelty. The surgery goes on for what seems like an eternity, eventually stopping when claws descend into the open chest cavities of my parents and pull out a crystal, one a warm orange-yellow color, the other swirling with blue and black. The claws place the crystals into the maturation tube containing Shadow Mewtwo. I watch as the Pokemon in the tube slowly awakens, taking all the crystals within the tube, even my parents crystals, into itself. It then looks around, seeing the scientist and myself, as well as my lifeless parents. I hear a voice in my head "Doctor, It looks like you have given me everything you promised, I am grateful. "You shouldn't thank me, I am only doing what my boss wanted, to make the perfect Pokemon. While the scientist and Shadow Mewtwo talk, my rage starts to heighten, seeing my parents lifeless bodies lying on the examination tables. Wisps of fire start to course all over my body. I look over at the scientist and imagine him bursting into flames brought on by my hatred of him. The Shadow Mewtwo senses these thoughts and releases me with his psychic power, understanding what my rage stems from. The Shadow Mewtwo keeps the attention of the scientist as I let my rage begin to consume me, wanting to put an end to him, and this lab.

The wisps of flame coalesce into a twisted form, a Charizard like form, but different. Black and blue flames intermingle with orange and red ones, making this form seem demonic in nature. The scientist catches a glimpse of me out of the corner of his eye, turning to face me the look of pure fear can be seen on his face. The Shadow Mewtwo speaks again to the scientist, "Bear witness to what you have wrought by taking away this Charmander's parents. I will take my leave of you now, thanks for the life you have given me through these Poke Cores and original Mewtwo DNA." With that he looks over to me and nods, "Let the anger course through you, exact revenge for what he has done to your family. A family that you barely even got to know, kill him so no more Pokemon are tortured." With his words I lose all sense of self control, lashing out at everything I see, the machinery, the now empty cages, the scientist, even my own parents lifeless bodies. I burn everything to nothingness, my power reaching deep into the ground, activating a dormant volcano underneath Cinnabar Island and making it erupt and coating everything on the island, destroying it completely. My power continues to go out of control, reaching out beyond the borders of the island now. The Pokemon waiting to escape get caught in the surge of power, vaporizing instantly, except for the Riolu who braves the constant waves of fire using his aura to protect himself as best as he can. He tries to make his way to where I am, to try to bring reason back to my fractured mind. "Charonus, you must stop this! This is not the way, what you are doing will only lead to ruin. Please, I implore you, calm yourself! His words fall on deaf ears as my uncontrolled power continues to radiate from me. He manages to get right up next to me, holding out his palm. "May my aim be true...I don't want to do this to a fellow Pokemon, but it must be done for the sake of everyone, Pokemon and human alike." He strikes me hard, using Final Gambit and not only knocking me out, but also himself as the fire encompassing my body surges out one final time, fatally burning the Riolu.

Several days later I come to. Slowly looking around what is left of Cinnabar Island, I spot the lifeless Riolu. "W-what...happened here...what is going on, how did all this destruction happen? As I look over the Riolu with tears in my eyes, I notice that he was badly burned, so much so that parts of his body are nothing but bone. "D-did I do this? N-no...I'm just a Charmander...I can't have this kind of power in me...this kind of destructive power." I slam my fists into the ground. "I can't...I can't." I keep slamming my fist into the ground, waiting for someone, anyone to stop me, to pull me from my nightmare.


	2. Chapter 2

**Book 1: Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 2: Renewed Hope - A New Quest Begins**

Far removed from the events that transpired on Cinnabar Island in Kanto, in the part of the Pokeworld known as Sinnoh, my actions manage to catch the attention of the Alpha Pokemon, Arceus. He watches closely as the whole of Cinnabar Island and everyone on and near it are destroyed by my fire. "This is disheartening that rage has consumed one so young as this, his hope lost seeing what he has done. Dialga, Palkia, I summon you two forth." As Arceus says this, two portals open up below the staircase leading up to his throne in the Hall of Origin. Dialga and Palkia rise up from the portals and make their way up to Arceus. Once they arrive, the Temporal and Spatial Pokemon bow and await what Arceus has to say.

"I have seen some very disheartening activity coming from the Kanto region as of late, a very young Charmander has just lost everything he held dear to him at the hands of humans and a new threat that emerged, Shadow Mewtwo. Normally I would not concern myself with something like this, but the power and rage that he has shown has piqued my interest. Therefore I have planned to lend aid to the young Charmander, but I need someone of the same line as him to help him along the way. First, to stop his rage, calm him and renew his hope. A fellow Charmander maybe, or even a Charizard, one to give him a sense of comfort. Also I want this person to relay a message to the young one. Many Pokemon can help him in his new journey, to train him and help him steel his heart, temper it and make it stronger. He will need to seek out the legends in each region and learn from them. Only then will he have the strength to face the one who holds the essence of his parents, Shadow Mewtwo."

When Arceus finishes his speech, Dialga and Palkia look at eachother, wondering how they will accomplish this feat. They wonder if there is a Pokemon in the Charmander line that could even deliver this task without breaking down, not wanting to send this young Charmander on a task that difficult. Arceus senses the duos hesitation, he speaks once more. "If one such Pokemon in the line cannot be found within this time period or this world, look throughout time and space for one. It may be against the laws normally to do such a thing, but I fear if the little one doesn't find hope, the Pokeworld may not have a future." With that, Dialga and Palkia snap their gaze towards Arceus once again. Palkia speaks, "Sir...is this one little Charmander really that powerful to have you this worried?" Arceus responds, "He may only be powerful enough to destroy a small island now, but if his despair and rage is allowed to fester within him, then his power could overwhelm even the most powerful of us, yes, even myself. One whose Pokecore contains all power and ability within..." With that, Dialga heads down the stairs of the Hall of Origin and begins to meditate. Not long after, Palkia joins him, their collective spatial and temporal powers allowing them to scan the very cosmos, searching for one worthy of this task appointed to them.

As the duo continues to search, Arceus keeps an eye on their progress. "I hope they can find one worthy enough...even though, finding Pokemon anywhere but here will be a miracle." Dialga and Palkia continue their search through the space-time continuum when suddenly Dialga locks into a time in the future. "Arceus sir, I'm getting signs of Pokemon that reside on quite a few worlds within the time period that I'm searching in" Arceus responds "Excellent, have Palkia help you to narrow down the possibilities in that timeframe." Dialga nods and holds the time period as Palkia begins to scan through space to find a large concentration of Pokemon containing planets. As Palkia continues his own scan, his sights land on a strange planet that resembles the Pokeworld in many facets. On one of the many continents of that world he finds a Charizard wearing humanoid clothing, holding a cake and standing near a strange looking Blastoise. "Arceus sir...I have found a strange planet that has signs of many different Pokemon, possibly as many Pokemon species as we have in our own world. Also I have found a Charizard...but he oddly is wearing humanoid clothing and is standing by what appears to be a Blastoise, but it looks strange to me. He has spikes on his shell and his skin is yellowish rather than the blue we are accustomed to. He also appears to have no water cannons on his body anywhere.' Arceus replies, "Hmmm, that is very strange, to think that Pokemon are on another world in the future, and possible different variants as well." Palkia asks, "Sir, do you want Dialga to look through this Charizard's past to see if he may be the one we seek?" Arceus answers, "Yes, Look at all of this Charizard's past experiences. I have a feeling that this Charizard will be the one. "

Palkia begins to meditate deeply, using his temporal power to peer into the Charizard's past. He sees everything that the Charizard has experienced, seeing his life from hatching to his current time. Palkia witnesses several tragic events, most notably the death of his own parents at a young age. Palkia snaps out of his meditative state and looks up at Arceus. Arceus stares back, "What have you found Palkia?" Palkia responds, "Arceus sir...this Charizard has had a similar tragic event to the young Charmander at about the same point in his life. He also learned to overcome this trial with the help of friends he found in his own journeys, friends like the strange Blastoise, apparently nicknamed 'Bowser', and a female dragon type nicknamed 'Cynder' " Arceus sighs a little, "I see, it looks like we may have found one who may be able to help the little Charmander, but to rip him from his own time to this time and place..." Dialga speaks up, "Sir, if I may speak, it must be done, for you said yourself that if the Charmander doesn't have the fires of hope within him, and his hate and rage allowed to fester...then this world is doomed." Arceus responds, "I am quite aware...but I don't want to rip him here without warning, he must be aware of what is to happen." Dialga and Palkia nod in agreement and make plans to send a notice to this Charizard.

One portal opens between the two, opening up to show the house of the Charizard. Arceus speaks, "Do your best and try to convey my message to the young Charizard...our world is relying on this to succeed." Palkia and Dialga nod and step into the portal arriving at the Charizard's home world. They could hardly imagine that it looked very much like their own. As they searched the surroundings, they saw on a clearing the Charizard engaged in what seemed like a friendly battle with the strange Blastoise and the dragon-type Pokemon. The Charizard managed to bring down the Blastoise, which made Dialga and Palkia very pleased. The two approached the battlefield. "Excellent fight you put up there, Charizard," said Dialga, which brought the Charizard and his two friends their attention. "Perhaps you could be of some help to us." The Charizard eyed Dialga and Palkia uneasily, he clearly has never seen them before. "Wh-who are you?" he asked. Palkia speaks, "I can understand the apprehension I see from you, I am Palkia, and my partner here is Dialga. We control the very forces of time and space." Dialga bows and begins to speak again, "We have come on a mission of grave importance, our very world could be the center of a crisis." Palkia and Dialga then create an observation portal looking over Cinnabar Island. "This is Cinnabar Island as how it looked several hours ago, that is until a Charmander from our world and time changed the landscape...taking many Pokemon and people with it." The image in the portal shows the events that transpired, leading up to the present time in the Pokeworld. "The Charmander's rage and hatred unleashed a power we have never seen from any normal Pokemon...Our leader Arceus worries that if this little one doesn't find something to hope in, then his hate and rage will fester and what happened to Cinnabar could happen to the rest of the Pokeworld." Palkia speaks again, "As we are restricted in interfering in the affairs of normal Pokemon, we have been asked to find one suitable to convey a message of hope to the little one."

The Charizard focused on the observation portal where he saw Cinnabar Island, which at first glance looked calm and peaceful, then it changed to appear bleak and in ruins. When he saw the cause of the island's destruction, he was shocked when he saw the Charmander. He looked troubled and tortured, and at the same time it was angered as it harmed Pokemon and people alike. As his two companions looked on, the Charizard grimly felt an urge to help out this Charmander. "I cannot believe that this little fellow could cause a catastrophe," he said as the image finally evaporated into nothingness. "So if I were to help this Charmander out, would that save the world he is from?" He paused momentarily. "But even so, how will it be possible to go to this world?" Palkia responds, "We can help you get there with our combined spacial and temporal power. It will be a long journey, and if you are truly willing to go then we can leave at any time." Dialga speaks up, "There is one more bit of information we must relay to you, once the Charmander has been calmed, he will have to go on a journey to help him strengthen his heart and mind...because there is another threat in our world that helped sow the seeds of Cinnabar's destruction into the Charmander's mind. It is an artificial construct taking the DNA of the New Species Pokemon, Mew and fusing it with the very essence of many other Pokemon who had capabilities benefiting one with cunning and manipulation as well as great physical and special ability...the Charmander's parents fell to the experiments to bring this Pokemon, Shadow Mewtwo, to life...giving their Pokecores to it unwillingly. The Charmander may someday have to face Shadow Mewtwo, but in his current condition, that would be disastrous."

"This journey that the little Charmander must embark on could be quite perilous in it's own right though. He will have to make the choice to accept or decline on his own, but if he does accept then he must find the legends within each region of our Pokeworld and learn from them. We see great potential within this young one, and through this training he may even be able to save the world from Shadow Mewtwo." Dialga says as he wonders how the Charizard and his friends will respond. Understanding everything that he has been told, the Charizard turned to his two friends. They both nodded at him, indicating that this is a mission that they will have to undertake in order to save the Charmander and his world. "We will do what it takes to prevent the destruction of Cinnabar Island from happening," he said. "My name is Draco and these are my friends Cynder and Bowser, I believe you haven't told me yours just yet." Palkia smiles, "You might have missed it when I told you earlier, but I am Palkia, and my partner is Dialga, as for Cinnabar...that place shall never return unfortunately. If we attempt to change what has happened, a different disaster could happen." The spatial and temporal Pokemon prepare to create a portal leading to the destroyed Cinnabar, a little bit away from myself as to not scare me. "We cannot accompany you once you three step through this portal we are setting up, once there it is up to you to help the small Charmander," Dialga says as the portal opens up. "We hope that you are able to succeed in this endeavor, may the power within serve you well."

The portal shone very brightly that Draco, Cynder, and Bowser had to take a step back. Draco turned to his two friends. "Are you guys alright?" he asked. "Yeah, we are," said Cynder. "Okay, let's go," said Draco, and the three headed right into the portal. In a moment, they find themselves in an island that looked bleak and desolate. Draco takes a look at his surroundings. The world he, Cynder, and Bowser are in looked very much like theirs, but they could see that it isn't the same world they came from.

A small distance away from the portal, the little Charmander is laying on the ground crying, his hands bruised and bloody from the multiple punches to the ground he did. "I never wanted this to happen...only to harm the guy in the strange coat a little...to make him stop...I didn't want to kill anyone," he looks back at the Riolu and frowns, "I don't know if I should be forgiven...I gave into rage, I'm a monster..." Just then the Charmander sees a glow from off in the distance. "Huh, what could that be? Could someone, or something have survived?" He stands up and makes his way slowly towards the glow. The glow slowly grew brighter, as the Charmander rubbed his eyes, the silhouette of a Charizard appeared in front of the glow. Finally, the silhouette revealed itself. The Charmander was stunned, as the Charizard looked very different. He was wearing human clothes. "Don't be afraid," he said. "I have come to help you." The Charmander watches as two other forms emerge from the glow, standing behind the strange looking Charizard. The Charmander takes a couple steps back, clearly apprehensive about this situation, knowing not who these people are but also because he doesn't believe anyone would want to help the monster that he has become. "Y-you want to help...me?" The Charmander looks down somberly, "Why would strangers want to help one who destroyed everything here...why help a monster?" The Charmander starts to cry into his bloody and bruised hands.

"Because you're not really a monster," assured the Charizard. "You are unsure with who you can trust, seeing that you must have gone through a lot." The two forms revealed from the flames, one was a rather unusual dragon-type and the other which resembled a Blastoise, but was obviously different in appearance. Both remained silent while the Charizard tried to coax the Charmander "We just heard about a Charmander that is in distress here on this island, so we have come to investigate and bring him to safety. You must be the Charmander, aren't you?" The Charmander looks up at the trio, tears still in his eyes, "Y-yeah...I guess I am..." The Charmander tells the trio his story from his view, about being taken from his home, watching the cruelness that happened to some small Pokemon he met, the experiments that the scientists and Team Rocket members put his parents through, the removal of his parents Pokecores that killed them in the process and about Shadow Mewtwo...at that moment of remembering Shadow Mewtwo he remembers that is when his rage started. "Shadow Mewtwo...he set this in motion...and he has my parents essences...what am I supposed to do now? Where am I even supposed to go...I don't know of any other place except here and my home...and what am I supposed to even do once I leave here?" Draco thought what to do for his new friend. "Team Rocket..." he said slowly. "Sounds like those people are no good." "I can't believe that they would do away your parents," said Cynder. "We can't let them harm any more Pokémon!" "But there's also the Shadow Mewtwo," said Bowser. "We really need to help this poor Charmander out, but how?" Draco looked his two friends, feeling a certain kinship with his Charmander. "Since he's lost his parents and possibly his home, I'd say it is up to us that we take care of him for now and help him regain his strength." The Charmander looks at the trio, "How are you going to help me do that? I wouldn't even know where to begin, where can we even go?" Some debris moves by the group, within is a slightly singed map that somehow managed to not be totally destroyed. The Charmander picks it up and looks at it. "Huh...is this what my world looks like, it's a lot bigger than I thought."

Draco checks the map. "So that's your world?" he asked. "Wow, you are most certainly right about that." Cynder notices a rather interesting landmark. "Look at this place," she said as she pointed at the map. "The Great Charizard Shrine, maybe we can find some answers and solutions to what to do." "She might be correct about that, Draco," said Bowser. "I say we investigate the place to help our little friend." Draco looked to his friends. "Bowser, Cynder," he said. "I'm so glad you're here to guide me whenever I need it, so let's go find the shrine." The little Charmander looks up and smiles, thinking to himself some. "Thank you everyone...I'm glad that I found others who want to help me out."


	3. Chapter 3

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 3: The Charizard Shrine - A Destiny Revealed**

"So, how are we going to reach this shrine as a group?" The little Charmander looks up inquisitively at the three. "I know Charizards can fly, as well as most dragon types because they have wings, but what about the strange Blastoise that is with you. Wouldn't it be hard for him to get there?" Draco looked at Bowser, knowing this to be a very good question as he obviously can't fly. Suddenly, Bowser heard a voice speaking to him. "Need help travelling far distances?" it spoke. "It's you again?" exclaimed Bowser. "Yes, I would absolutely need help, please!" "Very well," said the voice. "Just think with your mind where you want to go, and you'll be brought there." The others looked at Bowser with confused expressions. "I forgot to mention," said Bowser. "That I have a way to get to where you'll be going without any hassle, and I'll be using my mind to do so." Purple fog start to emanate around Bowser before he slowly vanishes as he gets spun around. "Meet you at the Charizard shrine!" he called. The little Charmander stares in amazement as the strange Blastoise that stood there moments ago vanishes before his eyes. "H-how did he do that? I've never known anyone to do anything like that except for that Shadow Mewtwo I saw. Well I guess we should follow him then."

Meanwhile at the Charizard Shrine, some of the resident Charizards there are tending to their duties, tending to the needs of the young Charmanders as some Charmeleons run around helping the Charizards out. Suddenly a purple fog sprouts up around the base of one of the Charizard statues as Bowser materializes there. One of the Charizards walking by the statue's back spots the fog. "Huh, what is going on, where did this fog come from?" As Bowser completely materialises at the shrine, he looked on a bit nervously. All the Charmanders, Charmeleons, and Charizards were staring at him suspiciously. "That's the strangest Blastoise I have ever seen," exclaimed one Charizard. Bowser took no notice at the remark and tried to think up what to say. "Um, hello," he finally spoke. "Is this the Charizard Shrine?" "Yes, it is," replied another Charizard. "But what brings you here, strange Blastoise?" "It's a bit of a long story," said Bowser. "Right now, I'm expecting a Charizard and Charmander that are supposed to arrive here at this time." "Bowser, over here!" a voice called. Bowser turned around and saw his friends Draco and Cynder flying towards the shrine with the little Charmander riding on Draco's back. Once they land the little Charmander jumps off of Draco's back and looks around at the scenery. "This place is impressive, I never would of figured that so many of my line were in this one place." At that moment, an old looking Charizard comes from behind the crowd that isgawking at the strange Blastoise. "I welcome you to the Charizard Shrine young travellers." He glances down at me and lets out a warm smile, reminiscent of the one I saw from my mother. "And an especially warm welcome to you young Charmander. Now if you four would follow me, I want to find out what brings you to a place like this."

The old Charizard leads us to a secluded field and motions for us to take a seat. "I have felt a disturbance in nearby Kanto as of late, and an aura that is familiar to me. It felt like my daughters aura. Would any of you know about this disturbance?" He keeps watching me as he speaks. I catch his gaze and frown at what he said, knowing full well that I was the one responsible for the disturbance he felt. The old Charizard looks at me with concern. "What is wrong young one?" He comes closer to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. "You can tell me anything." I look up at him, tears welling up in my eyes. The way this Charizard speaks makes me feel like I can tell him anything. I begin to tell him everything. "I was the disturbance...my rage got the best of me, rage towards the ones who killed my parents...many innocent Pokemon and people were caught in my fire as my rage destroyed an island." I continue to tell him more details from my story, almost completely breaking down. The old Charizard wraps his arms around me, hugging me tight, feeling much like the hug I recieved from my own mother not that long ago. A strange feeling comes over me, wondering who exactly this Charizard could be. The old Charizard looks up at the other three. "This Charmander has been through a rough time for a newborn, thank you for bringing him here. Now that I know his side of the story, I would like to ask how you three, a Dragon, a Koopa and a Charizard from some other world entirely, got here."

Draco, Cynder, and Bowser were stunned. They never expected that the elder Charizard would have guessed that Cynder and Bowser were the only non-Pokémon that came to their world. The others looked at Draco, being very intrigued at how he is the only Charizard to wear human clothes. After the trio told their story of how they met Dialga and Palkia, the elder Charizard looked at them with great interest and pondered. "Seems as if Dialga and Palkia have chosen you three because you may have what it takes to help this little Charmander put a stop to a dangerous threat that will emerge. I truly believe that you are strong and dedicated enough to accomplish this noble task." "We are glad to help, your Honour," replied Draco. "But how will we be able to do it?" The elder Charizard. "Come with me," he said. "All of your answers will be revealed inside the temple." As the group enters the temple, they can see the walls are lined with large Charizard statues, some of which have jewels located in their chests that shine with different colors, but others that have jewels that look dull and lifeless. A pair of statues catches my eye and I walk closer to get a good look at them. "This is the hall of Charizards, ones that have made a better world to live in through their contributions against evil...unfortunately recently we have lost a pair of powerful Charizards as denoted by the dull jewels that you can see." The elderly Charizard points over to the statues that I am going towards, just then seeing me. I look up at the statues, recognizing them somewhat. The elderly Charizard comes over towards me. "Do you see something familiar young one?" "T-these are my parents..." I look up into the elderly Charizard's eyes. "The statues look just like them..." The elderly Charizard kneels down next to me. "Why are statues of my parents here..." The Charizard speaks. "That is because they are important Charizards to this shrine. These two have done a lot for this world since becoming Charizards. Please come with me and I can tell you more about them and what is in store for you."

He leads us deeper into the temple, into a meeting room like area. "If any of you have any questions before we begin, please feel free to ask them now, I am still waiting for another to show up, an old friend of mine who can shed some light on this situation for our young Charmander here." Draco raised his paw up. "Yes, Draco?" nodded the elder Charizard. "This may not be a serious question, but are we going to eat yet?" asked Draco.

Cynder rolled her eyes. "Always thinking with your stomach, Draco," she muttered. "Come to think of it, it is time for lunch after all," smiled the elder Charizard. "Come this way to the eating room, the food shall be ready in no time." Inside the eating room, the five dragons waited as they took their seats. Soon, a Charizard came by to serve the food, which consisted of plates full of an assortment of roasted meat. While everyone started chowing down, Cynder looked on, not feeling hungry at the slightest. "What's the matter, young dragon lady?" asked the elder Charizard. "Don't you like this food?" "Allow me to explain, elder," said Draco after he finished a piece of drumstick. "Cynder here is a piscivore, meaning she eats only fish." "Ah, I understand," said the Charizard elder. "It's alright," replied Cynder. "I wasn't feeling hungry anyway, so I might have something later." "This meat is good!" exclaimed Bowser after he tossed away a now fleshless bone. "How do you do this?" "Oh, we just bring our catch, carve them to pieces, set them in our own fire pits where we use our Flamethrower to cook the meat," said the elder Charizard. The little Charmander belched after eating ravenously. He had been starving for a long time since being separated from his parents.

As the meal begins to come to a close, the elder Charizard smiles as he senses a presence arrive in the other room. "Ah, looks like my guest has arrived, please wait here while I go to meet him." I look up and watch as the Charizard leaves the room, wondering who his guest could be, curiosity getting the best of me as I try to stealthfully follow him and see. In the next room I catch a glimpse of a familiar figure talking with the elder Charizard. "Welcome my friend, I have been waiting for you." The figure responds, "Hopefully not long, and I see you have some other company here. Is one of them the one that you mentioned having the power like your daughter?" The Charizard replies, "Yes...he even confessed to be the one that destroyed the island, but I am still unsure. As for the other three he was accompanied by, they come from the other world that you yourself have visited during your travels, brought here by Dialga and Palkia to help him out." "I see, one Charmander with power untempered, and three others from the planet Earth, brought to aid the young one...Arceus, what have you gotten us into. Well lets not keep our guests waiting, there is a lot of explaining to do, and a naughty little Charmander to take back to the group." The figure looks at me with a piercing gaze, like the one Shadow Mewtwo gave me as he spoke in my mind, next thing I know is I'm teleported onto Bowser's head as the elder Charizard and the mysterious figure teleport into the dining hall, finally revealing himself to be a Mewtwo.

The elder Charizard speaks, "Please don't be alarmed, this is my old friend that I have been waiting for. He knows of the current situation and wants to help." The Mewtwo looks at everyone present, "I know of the Shadow Mewtwo, and I want to lend my aid in helping our Charmander friend. I will not stand by and let a twisted version of myself continue to do evil. I will be taking the Charmander to my home near the town of Cerulean and will be training him under the guidance of my friend, You three are welcome to join us for I feel that you three will have some role to play in this Charmander's life." The elder looks at me, "Young one, are you willing to set forth and endure this training that will be placed upon you? If the answer is no, then you are welcome to stay here at the Charizard Shrine, but if you say yes, then I wish you the best of luck in this trial. The start of your journey is up to you." The little Charmander looks up, staring deep into the elder's eyes as he tells him, "Yes, I need to get stronger. I don't want that rage that consumed me to ever befall anyone else. I want to be a flame of protection for those who cannot protect themselves...I may have not known my parents long, but I think they had a similar plan for me, and I'm glad I knew them for as long as I did." The elder kneels down, hugging me tightly with tears in his eyes. "It is good to hear you say this, you are so much like my own daughter. Her sense of right has saved this world before, I wish she was here to see this day." The little Charmander smiles a bit, wiping away some tears of his own. The Mewtwo floats the little Charmander into the air with his psychic power. "Then we shall be going to the Cerulean cave." The Mewtwo begins to lead the little Charmander out. Draco looks to his two friends. "I think we should go with Mewtwo so that we can check on our little friend's training," said Cynder. "She's right, Draco," agreed Bowser. "He will benefit from us supporting him."

The three followed Mewtwo, eventually arriving at a cave not far from Cerulean City. It looked dark and mysterious. The group enters the dark cave, eventually the only light able to be seen coming from Draco's and the Charmander's tail flames. "We shall arrive at my training ground and home pretty soon. I do have accommodations there suitable for our earth friends here." As the party walks deeper into the cave, they hear some other sounds around them, a few Pokemon native to the cave can be seen from the limited light every now and then, but some other non native ones are seen as well. The party eventually sees crystals in the distance, sitting around and on a platform illuminating a massive training ground, as well as a somewhat large building. Three figures stand near the walkway to the training ground, eventually looking over to see Mewtwo and the party. As the party gets closer, they see that the three are a Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise, all with unique markings adorning their bodies. The Mewtwo turns and looks at us. "This is my place, it is a sanctuary for clone Pokemon, as well as a training ground for those Pokemon who seek to better themselves.

A young girl, around 12 to 13 years of age, wearing a flowing dress and sporting long green hair comes out from behind the clone Blastoise to see who they are all looking at. She smiles and bows at us. "Welcome, are you here to train with Metwo?" The Charmander looks over at her, wondering why a human would be living away from the cities with a bunch of clone Pokemon. The Charmander smiles shyly. "Y-yes I am." The girl smiles, "That's wonderful to hear, my name is Amber, what is yours?" Surprised to find a human that actually understands what a Pokemon is saying, it takes a bit to come out with my name. "M-my name is...what did my dad call me again? Ah, Charonus, my name is Charonus." Amber smiled, "Looks like I may have caught you off guard Charonus, I can use telepathy to understand you, a special gift I share with Mewtwo and the other clone Pokemon here. I am also a clone." Mewtwo looks at everyone, "We can get more aquainted inside the building you see there, and tomorrow starts the training. Don't worry Charonus, it will be easy to start, but I hope you can rise in power as well as strengthening your soul." He heads off to the building, motioning for the Venusaur, Blastoise and Charizard to follow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 4: Mewtwo's Training Begins**

The group follows Mewtwo and Amber into the building, with the clone Pokemon following behind them. Charonus looks around once inside the building to see that it is pretty well furnished, noting all the different places for Pokemon and humans to sit within the seating room nearby. Mewtwo motions for the group to take a seat within the sitting room. "I hope that the accommodations here will be to your liking. I will go ahead and get the guest rooms ready while you all tell your stories." Mewtwo leaves the room and Amber takes her seat. "Mewtwo has told me of some of the events that he has felt, but I would like to get your sides of this story." She looks at me, "But before that I will tell you my story, for it has some parallels to yours."

Amber begins to tell her story. "Several years ago in a lab on Cinnabar Island I was nothing more than a cloned consciousness that my father managed to save. My original body being lost in a tragic accident. My father was experimenting in the process of cloning at the time, trying to give me a body to house my consciousness. During this time, within a world inside my own mind, I eventually met up with my three Pokemon friends here. They were all in their first form when they were cloned. We would play together in my world everyday, one day Mewtwo showed up, linked through our minds. Everything was good until one day the minds of the Pokemon, even myself started to fade. My father and his other scientists tried everything they could to save us but nothing they were doing was working. Mewtwo, the only one with a will strong enough to not fade, gave up some of his power to save us all. If it wasn't for Mewtwo I wouldn't be here now today, and I am thankful for that.

Eventually my father was able to transfer my consciousness into a cloned body of myself. I was so happy to see all of my friends from my little world all safe thanks to Mewtwo, but the happiness didn't last long. My father at the time was working for a group called Team Rocket to make the most powerful Pokemon in existence, a clone of Mew. My father didn't want to give Mewtwo over but people from Team Rocket came and took him anyway, subjugating him to mental control devices that made him do the bidding of their boss. Eventually Mewtwo came back after freeing himself, angry that my father let them take me. I pleaded with Mewtwo to not do anything bad and eventually got through to him. We lived relatively peacefully until another scientist stole my fathers research and eventually did away with my father while Mewtwo was away. He almost did away with me but Mewtwo managed to save me and take me to this cave, saving my life. I have lived here ever since with Mewtwo and the clone Pokemon that my father made in his lab before his unfortunate passing."

Charonus takes this story in, remembering the scientist that created that Shadow Mewtwo. "I think we do have a link to each other Amber, I may have seen the scientist who killed your father...he is no more himself, but his creation is roaming free." Amber frowns at hearing this. "I see, and that is why you came here to train, to stop this Shadow Mewtwo?" Charonus answers, "Yes, but I also came here to better myself...to get stronger so rage doesn't consume me again like it did on Cinnabar Island." Charonus tells his story to Amber, letting her know what has transpired. "I see, that is why Mewtwo chose to go see his Charizard friend at the Charizard Shrine, thank you for telling me of your story." Charonus smiles a little. Amber turns to look at the others, "And how are you three involved in this Charmanders life?" Cynder, Draco, and Bowser stepped forward towards Amber. Cynder nodded at Draco, to which the Charizard understood, and he told them about how they came from Earth and were brought to the Pokémon World by Arceus, Palkia and Dialga as they considered him to give Charonus hope, resolve, and assistance in defeating the Shadow Mewtwo.

"The god of the Pokemon world must have seen something special within you to come to that conclusion." Amber smiles at everyone. Charonus asks Amber, "What else do you do besides taking care of Pokemon and Pokemon clones?" Amber looks at Charonus and responds, "I help to bring strong bonds between Pokemon and people. As someone who can understand Pokemon as well as I understand people, it makes it easier to help with problems that may arise." Charonus nods in understanding. Mewtwo makes his way back to the group, "The guest rooms have been prepared for the group, sleep well for the training will begin tomorrow young Charonus. In this training you will face off against the three clone starters, one at a time at first, then all at once. Prove yourself well and you will receive personal training from me." Charonus turns towards Mewtwo, "That seems a little much...fully evolved starters are quite powerful." Mewtwo responds, "I am quite aware, but you have untapped power inside, I will closely monitor the training so there will be no worry of major injuries." Charonus nods and heads up to the guest rooms, finding one with his name on the door. When he enters the room, he sees that it is set up like his home back at the Seafoam Islands. "H-huh? How is this even possible? Did he pull this from my mind?" Charonus keeps looking around, seeing the Charmander sized nest in the corner. He decides to try it out and is soon asleep, not realizing how tired he really was after his ordeal at Cinnabar.

As Charonus sleeps, he begins to dream. In his dream he is standing within the cave at Seafoam Islands. He looks around, all he sees is the rocks of the walls and the nest nearby that held him for his first moments out of his egg. He hears a roar out in the distance, echoing off the cave walls. He tries to follow the sound and eventually finds a Charizard in a neighboring chamber. "W-who are you?" Charonus asks. The Charizard continues to roar out, seemingly in pain. Charonus walks around the Charizard, eventually seeing the Charizard's chest. He sees a jewel inset in the Charizard's chest that glows with several different colors, one side of the jewel being orange and yellow, the other being blue and black. Charonus tries to reach out for the jewel, but the Charizard quickly turns away. "Does it hurt you?" Charonus asks the Charizard. The Charizard simply nods, then he manages to speak somewhat. "T-the...flames...they are...corrupted, my power is corrupted...ever since that day on Cinnabar..." Charonus looks at the Charizard, "That day at Cinnabar? What are you talking about?" The Charizard looks back at Charonus, "You know, because I am you, I am the Charizard within you. The one that came out and killed many innocents...Our very power is corrupted..." Charonus looks into the eyes of the Charizard, "I am trying to fix that, to temper my...our power, with the help of some other Pokemon. They are willing to help me in any way they can." The Charizard looks back at me, "I'm afraid...afraid that I may come out again and harm them. Can you promise me that everything will be under control?" Charonus sighs, "I can't promise anything, you know that as well as I do, but you have to trust in these Pokemon that I have found to help me, to help us...Through this training with these Pokemon, hopefully we will gain the power to get through this and remove this corruption from our Pokecore."

Charonus hears another couple gentle roars behind him. He turns and looks to see his Parents standing behind him. Charonus' mother looks down at him "Charonus...my son. I am glad to hear such words from you, you are growing up fast. We may not be here with you, but our spirits reside within you, inside your Pokecore. Please remember us well, eventhough we were not together long." Charonus' father steps and touches Charonus' chest with his claw, "The power that your mother and I hold is a part of you, discover your ability and use it to bring peace to the world as we have during our lives." Charonus' mother comes over and hugs him, holding him close. "I'm sorry you had to go through so much, but never forget that there will always be others there to help you, like your grandfather at the Charizard shrine. You should know who he is by now." Charonus looks up at his mother, "Yeah, I believe I do, he was the one that helped me find Mewtwo so I can be trained by him." Charonus' mother speaks again, "Go now and train well, please bring peace to the Pokemon world." Charonus smiles, "I will train my hardest." After that, Charonus' parents dissapear, the Charizard behind him dissapearing as well. He slowly wakes up in the morning with a slight smile on is face and a tear in his eye. "I won't forget you...mom...dad..."

Charonus comes out of his room and looks around for the others. Mewtwo spots him, "I trust you slept well young Charmander." Charonus simply smiles and nods. "That is good to hear, the others are out at the training field. Apparently some of them can't stay away from a challenge, especially the Charizard and Koopa. They got up early to train against the Charizard and Blastoise clones." Charonus nods and heads out, "I definitely need to see this, it may give me inspiration for my training." Mewtwo remarks, "Well, someone got good sleep, must of had a good dream." Mewtwo smiles slightly, but Charonus doesn't notice as he heads out to see Draco and Bowser train against the Blastoise and Charizard clones.

As Charonus reaches the training field he sees Draco locked in battle with the Charizard clone, neither giving an inch as they struggle to throw the other onto the ground. On the other side of the field Bowser is similarly locked in battle with the Blastoise clone. Cynder looks on, cheering for Draco and Bowser. Charonus continues to watch on as the Venusaur clone comes up from behind. "Your friends have great strength young Charmander. I have never seen any Pokemon able to keep a position like those two have." Charonus looks at the Venusaur and asks, "Why are they just standing there like that?" The Venusaur clone replies, "It is a type of fighting style known as Sumo." The Venusaur points to circle around Draco and Charizard Clone with his vines. "Do you see that circle there, the object of Sumo is to push your opponent outside of that circle. Most other Pokemon that I have seen come to train with us would of been pushed out by now, but Draco and Bowser have been holding their own quite well." I turn back and watch as the battles continue. "As for you Charonus, soon the training Mewtwo has set for you will start. I will be starting off slow, so no worries about getting hurt from overexertion." Charonus asks, "What will I have to do during this training with you?" The Venusaur clone replies, "Mewtwo will tell you, as for now enjoy watching your friends and maybe they will be able to show us what kind of power they are capable of."

As Charonus continues to watch, he sees Draco and Bowser managing to push the two clones back some. "Wow...such power!" The Venusaur clone replies to Charonus' statement, "It's not all about power young Charmander, even a weaker opponent for the Charizard and Blastoise clone has the potential to overpower them, it is all in how you know yourself first. Knowing yourself and using your own strengths to overcome your weaknesses is what leads to true power." "Hmmm...I don't think I quite understand yet," Charonus says. "Give it time, that is one reason why you came here is it not, to get help to get stronger?" The Venusaur clone questions. "It is, I do want to get stronger," Charonus responds. At this moment Mewtwo comes from behind them. "But gaining power for powers sake is not a good ideal, there must be an outlet to put that power towards, a means to and end. Otherwise one becomes consumed and corrupted by that very power. Now young Charmander, it is almost time to begin, once Draco and Bowser have had their fun."

Charonus continues to watch as both Bowser and Draco keep pushing the two clone Pokemon to the edge of the sumo rings. The clone Pokemon try to mount a counterattack, but Draco and Bowser hold their own, eventually looking at each other and nodding. Draco and Bowser, with one final push, knock the clones out of the sumo rings and sending them onto their backs. Charonus looks on, impressed at this feat. Mewtwo simply smiles and says, "Excellent, you are the first two that have managed to beat the Charizard and Blastoise clones in a sumo wrestling challenge. It really is an impressive and inspiring feat. And with that I think it is about time that Charonus' training begins against the Venusaur clone, but unlike the sumo matches you had, this training will test how well the little Charmander can withstand the special abilities of Pokemon using his own powers and abilities." Charonus looks up at Mewtwo, "Wait...these are going to be Pokemon battles?" Mewtwo looks back down at Charonus, "Not exactly, the object is to get to the Pokemon you are training against and touch them, but they will be trying to hinder your progress by any means. Manage to touch the Pokemon within one hour and you win, if not, then you can take a break and try again later." Charonus is relieved to hear this, Mewtwo continues speaking, "You can use any move you know to try and aid yourself in this task, just as the Pokemon you face can use everything they know to hinder you. I wish you luck in your training Charonus."

Mewtwo motions for the Venusaur clone to take his place at one end of the big battlefield he has, and Charonus to take up position at the other end. The Venusaur clone looks over to Charonus, "I hope you are ready, your first test begins now." As the Venusaur says this, vines erupt from the flower upon his back and create a maze of vines, obscuring the path to the Venusaur.


	5. Chapter 5

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 5: The Forest of Vines and Razor Sharp Leaves**

Charonus watches as the view in front of him is obscured by the clone Venusaur's vines, a literal jungle spread out in front of him. Mewtwo looks at Charonus and speaks, "You have one hour to get through this vine maze and reach the Venusaur at the other end, use any and all methods at your disposal to get through." Charonus nods and thinks of how he will get through this test. Making his way up to the starting vines of the maze, he tests his claws, seeing if he can cut through them. The vines give and move with his claws, his claws barely making a scratch in them. "These vines seem very pliant...this is going to be quite tough." Charonus decides to try an Ember attack, hoping to burn the vines out of the way. He lets loose with a spread of flames from his maw, hitting the vines dead on. The vines catch fire and burn out of the way somewhat, looking like enough space for Charonus to squeeze his body through

As Charonus enters the gap, he looks ahead of himself and sees a clearing. He continues forward and winds up on one end of a small circular clearing within the vine maze. Charonus hears the clone Venusaur's voice call out, "The first test of the vine maze begins now." Out of the corner of Charonus' eye he sees something move towards him. Reflexively Charonus moves back and sees a spinning leaf move inches past his face. Another leaf makes it's way past Charonus' back as he is moving back and manages to cut him slightly. "Owww...Razor Leaf, this could be dangerous if I get caught off guard too much." "Find your way through this storm of leaves to continue Charonus, you only have 45 minutes to reach me." Hearing this, Charonus tries to make it to the other end of the clearing, but gets blocked by Leaf Storm. Avoiding it the best that he can, he tries to form a strategy to get through the Venusaur's test.

Charonus, thinking for a moment, decides that his best chance is to go around another way into this maze of vines. He finds another spot to his left to burn through and finds yet another clearing. "How many clearings has he made in here?" Charonus asks himself as he yet again gets assaulted by random Razor Leaves. Dodging and weaving through them to the best of his ability he tries to find more spots to burn to hopefully progress to the Venusaur. "30 minutes left Charonus!" the Venusaur yells out, "You better make haste if you want to reach me in time." Charonus begins to worry he won't make it, making his movements hasty and rash. He makes a crucial misstep near some vines while avoiding some Razor Leaves and misses with an Ember attack, sending it into the air and down into a nearby Leaf Storm attack, setting it ablaze as it heads towards him. The fiery Leaf Storm slams into Charonus, knocking him back into the vine wall near him, burning the vines to another chamber and slightly charring his scales. "G-good thing fire types are resistant t-to grass and fire moves...but t-that still hurt..." Charonus picks himself up and moves into the next chamber, noticing the vines at the back of the chamber are more dense than the ones in other chambers. "I must be getting close if the vines are this thick..."

"15 minutes Charonus. I hope you are doing alright in there." The voice of the Venusaur showing his concern for the young Charmander. Charonus makes his way closer to the reinforced vines, as he gets close several Seed Bombs fall from above. Charonus tries to dodge the best he can, but gets hit on the side by one of the seeds, sending him reeling backwards. "I hope you have something more than Ember, or you will never get past these vines, also I hope you will work on your dodging too." Charonus gets back up, thinking to himself, "All I know is Ember right now...looks like I may have to look deep in myself to find some hidden power" Charonus makes his way towards the reinforced vines again, but slowly to test what the Venusaur will do. "Five minutes remain, hope you come up with something quickly." As Charonus hears this he darts forward quickly, Venusaur reacts by sending a pair of Leaf Storms at him. Charonus dodges and fires Ember at one of them, setting it ablaze. The Leaf Storm heads back towards Charonus as he sets himself up between the the vines and the Leaf Storm. The other Leaf Storm comes from the side and Charonus dives to the open side as the attacks slam into eachother creating a fiery leaf tornado that slams into the vines with such a force that it knocks Charonus back and knocking him out.

"Looks like time is up Charonus." He looks through the hole that opened up before him and sees Charonus knocked out. Venusaur lowers the vine maze and goes over to check on him. Charonus slowly comes to and gets back to his feet, "I was so close...but I lost..." Venusaur looks at Charonus, "You put up a good effort, you should be proud to get as far as you did in your first try, now come, lets get you fixed up from your cuts and burns. You could try again tomorrow after a good rest." Charonus smiles, "Yeah...that sounds like a good idea." Charonus smiles as he passes Draco, Bowser, Cynder, and Mewtwo. Mewtwo follows Charonus as he heads back to the house, "You did quite well young Charonus, better than anyone else who has gone through training with Venusaur, but there are things that you do need to keep in mind." Charonus looks up at Mewtwo, "I know...I was a bit too eager to try and get to Venusaur that I acted too rashly and miscalculated how much power the Leaf Storm attacks had when combined with my Ember attack." Mewtwo smiles, "But that was very creative to combine his attacks with yours. I bet Venusaur will prepare something for that on your next try." Charonus smiles as well, "I look forward to that, but I will need to prepare myself for my next try. I hope to look within myself and find some more abilities to aid me."

As Mewtwo and Charonus enter the house, he takes him to a side room to treat his injuries. "You got banged up a little huh. Don't worry though, I can heal you right up." Mewtwo places his hand upon Charonus' shoulder and channels a little of his Recover into him. Charonus watches as his burns and cuts slowly heal up. "After this you should take a nap and recover your strength. You should be in top form for when you try again." "I will, and hopefully I can find some power within myself. I really want to pass this test and get to the other ones." Mewtwo completes healing Charonus, "I like that you are eager, but don't get ahead of yourself. Take this training one step at a time." Charonus responds, "I know, and I will take that advice to heart. Thank you Mewtwo." Charonus heads out of the room and heads to his room in the house to nap.

As Charonus naps, he dreams of his home in Seafoam again and sees the same Charizard form of himself. "We lost...didn't we?" The Charizard says as Charonus looks upon him. "You saw everything?" Charonus asks inquisitively. "I did..." The Charizard responds. Charonus looks deep into the eyes of his Charizard subconscious, "I am proud of how far I managed to get, and seeing as you are a part of me, you should be too." Charonus' subconscious stares back, "I am proud...but you know full well as I do in the back of your mind that you could unleash that corrupted flame with any sort of provocation...I just worry at when it will happen...and who will be hurt by it, like that Riolu that only tried to help us..." Charonus looks down, sullen at the memory of the Riolu that he burned in his rage. "I am taking precausions with that, I promise it won't happen again, but there is something I do need. I need a bit more of my inner power, anything more to help me in my current tests. Please, you are me so you know this to be true." Charonus' subconscious responds, "I do know...and I may have a power that can help you, but you must be careful with it. Also to learn this power I must keep you in this dreamworld overnight to train you." Charonus nods, "Any help is appreciated. I accept and I hope one day, when we are both strengthened, that you and I can become more bonded. I don't like this feeling that a part of myself is afraid. One must always take the good with the bad." As Charonus continues to sleep, his body slowly glows with a warm orange glow.

The following morning, Charonus awakes to the sound of Amber talking to Mewtwo outside his door. Charonus hears Amber say to Mewtwo, "Don't you think that the training might have been a little rough on him yesterday. He has been asleep all night." Mewtwo responds, "I understand that, but he does want to get stronger, and ultimately it is his choice if he wants to continue or not. I won't force him to continue if that is your worry Amber." Amber sighs a little, "I just worry for Charonus' safety is all. Facing several powerful Pokemon can take it's toll on one as young as him." Mewtwo tries to comfort her, "I know, please don't worry, he is quite capable from what I have seen. Deep down he knows his limits and will not do anything too reckless." Amber responds, "I hope your right, a lot of things are happening in the world from the threat of Shadow Mewtwo here in Kanto, to reports of a Shadow Lugia in Johto. But a more immediate threat to Charonus is I hear word of Team Rocket activity near Cerulean. I have heard a team has been searching for a Charmander that was rumored to destroy one of their labs on an island." Mewtwo looks at Amber inquisitively, "Is it that team with the Meowth?" Amber looks at Mewtwo surprised, "It is, how did you know." Mewtwo responds, "I just had this feeling..." At this moment Charonus comes out of his room, "Then I should get back to training." As he says this, he rushes past Amber and Mewtwo to meet up with Venusaur at the training field.

As Charonus arrives at the training field he sees the Venusaur clone conversing with the other clones. "Ah, speaking of our trainee, here he is. I hope you are ready for training today young one, for it will be harder than yesterday." Charonus responds, "I am, and I have some new powers to try out." The Venusaur smiles at this and takes his place at the far end of the training field. "Remember, you have one hour to complete the maze of vines and tag me. Try your best and use all you can to reach your goal." With that the Venusaur raises the vine maze again.

Charonus makes his way to the initial vine wall and burns through it with Ember, noting something different about his flame. "Hmmm, looks a little more powerful than yesterday, I'll have to thank my subconscious later. Caronus enters the first chamber once again and is instantly assaulted by Razor Leaves. Charonus dodges much quicker than he had only a day prior and makes his way to the back wall of the chamber, burning through the vines and getting to the next chamber. In the next chamber, Charonus notices the reinforced vines. "Well, this is different. You are pulling no punches here huh." Venusaur responds, "I told you this won't be as easy. 50 minutes left." With that Charonus makes his way forward. He notices some of the vines on the walls moving suspiciously. In the next moment, the vines unleash a storm of Bullet Seeds, others shooting Seed Bombs into the sky. Charonus tries with all his might to come out unscathed, but takes a couple hits here and there. "Looks like it may be time to try my new move out, I just need a clear shot though or I'll get hit with the backblast..." Continuing to look for the opening, Charonus continues to dodge the onslaught of seeds, finally seeing the opening he has been waiting for. Charonus takes careful aim and lets loose with a powerful Flame Burst attack, managing to strike true the reinforced vines and clearing out most of the seed shooting vines as well. Charonus dashes through to the next chamber.

In the next chamber, Charonus sees the floor is now all grassy. Feeling a strange energy flowing into him, he hears the Venusaur's voice again. "You have done well to make it into this chamber, but this will still not be a cakewalk. While here the Grassy Terrain you stand upon will heal you, but it will also give power to my moves. Lets see if you can get through this chamber to the final one before me. 35 minutes remain." As the Venusaur says this, Charonus watches as more vines begin an onslaught of seeds. Charonus continues to make his way to the other end of the chamber, deftly weaving in between the seed attacks, when he notices several Leaf Storm attacks make their way towards him. Charonus manages to use Flame Burst to dissipate two of the Leaf Storms, leaving the third to chase him to the back wall. "Lets try this move again." He unleashes Ember to the final Leaf Storm, setting it ablaze. Dodging at the last possible moment, Charonus watches the attacks collide with the vines once again, opening a hole into the last chamber. Charonus rebounds off a nearby Seed Bomb and uses the force to leap through the hole into another Grassy Terrain covered chamber.

"Well done to get here again, but this will be harder than last time. The very power of nature is your opponent here. 20 Minutes to go." After hearing this, Charonus notices the vines at the back aiming at him and charging up. Some other vines draw some energy from the Grassy Terrain itself and fire volleys of Energy Balls. "Man, he's not kidding. I better get through this quick before I take too much damage." As Charonus dodges the barrage of Energy Balls, he sees a disturbing sight. A powerful beam of pure sunlight passes close by to him, slightly pushing the small Charmander back. Charonus wonders how that attack can happen within a cave, but he then remembers the sight of his mother using the very same attack, drawing even the tiniest bit of sunlight into her body. As Charonus remembers this he feels a surge of heat around him and the chamber seemingly brighten up. He looks around for the source and sees something like a sun hanging in the air. "I'm taking a risk with this, but it will aid in my Solar Beam charge." He hears the Venusaur say. "This is the final push Charonus. Can you make it through this?"

Charonus readies himself for his own final push, drawing what power he can and taking aim at the wall right in front of the Venusaur. "I'm ready for anything you can throw at me." Charonus says. Venusaur responds, "We shall see." Venusaur launches most of his grass-type arsenal at Charonus, from Razor Leaves to Solar Beams. Even the nigh impossible to avoid Magical Leaves. Charonus takes this onslaught head on, waiting for an opening in the Venusaur's overwhelming defense. Everything seems to go in slow motion, and in that instant Charonus sees a moment of clarity. He takes aim and readies a Flame burst attack, but as he unleashes it he notices it isn't Flame Burst, but Flame Thrower. The attack hits the vine wall with such force that it wipes out the attacks Venusaur sent Charonus' way. The Venusaur's eyes widen as he sees the vine wall dissapear in front of his face. He covers his eyes from the intensity of the flames. After the flames die down, the Venusaur uncovers his eyes and is welcomed by the sight of Charonus standing in front of him. Charonus reaches out with his paw and taps Venusaur on the nose. "Boop, I got you." Charonus smiles at the sight of the Venusaur's face. "W-what? Where did you get that power...no matter you managed to make it to me, and with 5 minutes left. Very impressive." He shakes Charonus' paw with his vine and lowers what is left of the maze.

Mewtwo comes over to Charonus and Venusaur. "It seems that I was correct when I said you were quite capable. I have never seen a showing like that from anyone who has trained against Venusaur." Charonus smiles as he looks himself over, "That may be so, but I still took quite a beating, but thanks to the Grassy Terrain I feel somewhat fine." Mewtwo smiles, "Don't worry, I'll get you healed up the rest of the way, and as for your training, I think a day off is in order. You surely don't want to overexert yourself." Charonus nods, "I agree, and I also want to see what my friends think about how my training went." Mewtwo brings Charonus into the house to get healed and ready for what lies ahead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 6: The True Power of the Flame**

Charonus awakens after his day of rest where he was complemented nonstop by his friends. He heads out of his room and runs into the Charizard clone, who was headed out to the training field. "Someone seems pretty eager today." The clone says to Charonus. "I just want to keep going and test myself." Charonus responds. "Just remember to take things in moderation. Keep a level head and don't get too eager to complete the training." The Charizard pats Charonus on the head. Charonus looks up and smiles, "I know, I had some missteps with the training against Venusaur, but I'm ready for what comes next." The Charizard raises an eye ridge, "Really, I'll be the judge of that young one. You must get past my powerful flames if you want to get through my training. Today I will test your strength, but just know this. If your strength is not in balance with your knowledge you will never pass my test." Charonus looks inquisitively at the Charizard, "Huh, what do you mean by that?" The Charizard smiles, "That is for you to learn throughout this training."

Once the Charizard and Charonus reach the training field they take their respective places. "This training is similar to the training you did with Venusaur, tag me within the time limit of one hour. Use any and all abilities you know to your advantage. There is a difference to this training however, you must learn to overcome my strength with your own. Train to overpower my flame and you shall succeed in this training." Charonus slightly tilts his head to one side, "Overcome the strength of a Charizard's flame? Do you think I can really do that?" The Charizard nods, "I have seen it for myself when you won against the Venusaur. I knew you were going for Flame Burst, but you used Flamethrower at the end instead. What I don't know is how you tapped into that power. A Charmander as young as yourself shouldn't have access to that level of power yet, but you do." Just then the Mewtwo comes out to the training field, "What you say is not completely true my Charizard friend, all Pokemon are able to draw from deep within for any power they possess at any age, just as this Charmander has done. All that matters is the circumstance that brings it forth." The Charizard clone smiles, "I see, then I should expect anything then. This shall be interesting."

As the Charizard says this, he readies his flames. Charonus watches as the Charizard unleashes fire that forms into several columns of spinning flame, obscuring himself from the sight of Charonus. "Unless you can overpower these walls, you will never reach me, give it your best shot and try to reach me in one hour or less. The time starts now!" On that Charonus leaps into action and unleashes an Ember attack at the first wall. The attack slams the fire wall hard, but is absorbed into it. "Hmmm, he wasn't kidding when he said I need to exceed his strength. I'll need to think through this and find the strength deep inside."

Charonus thinks back to his training that he did with his own subconscious self while he slept during the training with Venusaur and remembers an interesting thing that his subconscious self said. "This new power comes in a twofold ability. You can use it as an outward explosion, or wrap it around yourself to protect yourself while at the same time attacking and speeding your actions up. I wish for us to do well in our training, please use these abilities with care." As Charonus snaps back to the task at hand, he concentrates on the flames within himself, bringing them forth to cover his body. "I sure hope this works, using my own flames to protect myself from his flames." Charonus charges forward, slamming into the flame wall using Flame Charge and manages to push through the first hurdle in this training. Reaching the other side of the first wall, Charonus hears the Charizard clone speak, "Well done, I knew you had the means within you, but the rest of this training will be harder than that. You must bring forth more power to reach me. 45 minutes remain." As Charonus hears this, he feels an immense amount of heat radiate from the space he's in. "This heat...so strong, even stronger than what I felt at Seafoam Islands. I gotta keep moving towards my goal." Charonus moves forward towards the next flame wall, but sees the wall waving somewhat. Suddenly bursts of fire are sent towards Charonus, who narrowly escapes in time.

"If this keeps up, even a fire type like myself could get toasted." Charonus cloaks himself once again in his own fire to protect himself as he heads to the next wall to hopefully break through. More and more Flame Burst attacks come towards Charonus as he gets closer to the flame wall. Charonus slams into the flame wall as hard as he can and sees his fire getting absorbed into it. Charonus keeps pushing as hard as he can, but it is no use as his Flame Charge is completely absorbed into the wall and Charonus is blasted back some distance. Charonus hears the Charizard speak, "Dig deep Charonus, I know you can break through. Find the strength from your inner Charizard that I saw you use during your training with Venusaur." Charonus stands back up and shakes off the shock of the blast back he incurred. "I must find out a way to get through this. This overwhelming heat saps my power, I can feel it...but I must endure." Dodging a few more Flame Burst attacks that are sent his way, Charonus tries to look into his subconscious to seek help from the Charizard within. As he does, time seems to slow down to a crawl for him.

Charonus looks around within his mind, not seeing his Charizard self. "Hey, where are you at?" As he says this, he hears a pained roar coming from behind him. "It's too much...I may unleash something I don't want to. Please, no more, please don't make me train anymore!" Charonus gets knocked back by a surge of fire coming from his own subconscious self. "NO MORE!" More waves of fire come from the Charizard, knocking Charonus back even more. "Hey, stop this, everything will be ok. Please stop!" Charonus' words fall on deaf ears, suddenly from behind he hears another roar. "Enough of this my child, can't you see that your real world self is trying to help make you and him better. It may be tough, but you will endure!" At that moment Hidden Power is unleashed from behind Charonus, slamming into Charonus' subconscious self with a blast of water, quelling the fire that was raging forth. A paw is placed on Charonus' shoulder, "I know that it is tough, but I know you will do your best my son. I leave this gift to you, the move Hidden Power: Water." Charonus looks up, seeing the face of his mother, "I will always be with you my son, even if we are far apart. Use this ability with care, and show that Charizard the true force of the flame within you."

Charonus' mind comes back to the outside world as he continues dodging the Charizard clones attacks. Charonus looks towards the fire wall in front of him as he decides to try and use the ability that the piece of his mother he keeps inside him entrusted to him. "You have 35 minutes left young Charizard, show me what strength you have within." Charonus takes aim and sends his Hidden Power directly at the wall. The attack collides with the wall, sending an impressive spray of water and quelling the raging flame blockade that was there. The Charizard looks at this event occur with a look of surprise on his face. "A water attack from a Charmander?! How is this possible?" Charonus leaps forward while the opening is presented, but is quickly met by another fire wall before he reaches the Charizard. "No matter, you must overcome this last challenge to reach me. I will be sending everything I can to hamper you. Not even your new water power will get through this!" After he says this, sunlight mysteriously appears, beating down upon the final trial the Charizard set forth. "Water is weakened and fire is enhanced while under my Sunny Day, best of luck to you. 20 minutes remain Charonus."

Charonus breathes heavily at the pressure exerted by the heat that bears down upon him, "If this continues...I won't have any strength left to breakthrough this final wall with..." As Charonus contemplates how to breach this final obstacle, the wall seemingly warps around him, trapping him inside. "This final test is to over power my Fire Spin attack while hopefully avoiding all the other fire attacks sent at you." Charonus watches the Fire Spin attack whirl around him, suddenly more Flame Burst attacks strike out of the wall and head towards Charonus. Charonus tries his best to avoid everything sent his way, but gets grazed by a couple of the flames that burst from the main attacks. "I will not fail this test...I must not. I will prove that I have strength of body, but also strength of mind to be able to wield this power. I must keep calm and focus!" The Charizard clone keeps careful watch over my progress and sees me getting battered by the flames, but he also sees a certain spark of power beginning to well within me. "Hmmm...I see why Mewtwo allowed him to train with us, maybe he can live up to his family's legacy and beyond." The Charizard decides to increase his attacks to something a normal Charmander couldn't withstand, but something he believes that Charonus can handle.

Charonus continues to focus and dodge the best that he can, managing to get faster and better at avoiding the Flame Burst attacks. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Charonus sees an unwelcome sight as a Fire Blast attack heads straight for him. Managing to narrowly dodge out of the way in the nick of time, Charonus sees as more Fire Blast attacks head straight for him. "W-what is this Charizard thinking, is he trying to make me toast?! If I don't come up with something quick I'm done for." Charonus continues to avoid the Charizard's attacks as best as he can until one Fire Blast manages to strike squarely into his side. Charonus lets out a loud roar as he gets slammed into the side of the Fire Spin attack and collapses onto the ground. As Charonus lays there he begins to hear a voice in his head, "I am willing to lend you some of my power...but please keep it under control. I don't want to bear witness to another Cinnabar Island incident." With those words, a warm glow encompasses Charonus' body, covering him in a fiery orange aura that coalesces into the form of a Charizard. Charonus stands up slowly and looks in the direction of the Charizard clone. "I thank you for helping me, you have shown me just how powerful fire can be, how destructive it can be to others. I wish to show you what I have learned, if I may." Charonus raises his hand and stops another approaching Fire Blast with his claws, absorbing it into his own aura. "Fire can destroy, but there is another facet to it, fire can also create if used correctly. For me, it will create a pathway to get out of here." Charonus takes a deep breath and unleashes a pulse of aura from himself and creating an Inferno attack that collides with the Fire Spin, bringing it down completely. As the Charizard looks on in disbelief, Charonus comes over to him and taps him on the belly, smiling up at the Charizard clone before passing out, the aura that surrounded him fading away.

Mewtwo comes over and looks at the Charizard clone, "You really pushed it this time, but it worked out. You drew out the true flame, albeit a small portion, from our little Charmander here. I think my Charizard friend back at the shrine will be happy with this report." Mewtwo picks Charonus up and carries him into the house for a well deserved rest.


	7. Chapter 7

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 7: Torrents of Dread**

Several days pass as Charonus recuperates from his latest training session. As he does, he dreams about what will unfold next. He sees strange lands, full of many other types of Pokemon, big and small. He also sees different landmarks throughout his world, from high mountains to deep seas. Charonus hears some talking from the others as he dreams. "Are you sure he can handle the next training Mewtwo?" Asks Amber worriedly, "He was pretty beaten up after his training with the clone Charizard. And now he faces the weakness of fire types..." Mewtwo kneels next to Amber and tries to assure her, "I have faith in the little one, you saw that little spark he had at the end of the last training session right?" Amber nods a little. "If you also have faith in him, he will do well." Mewtwo and Amber leave my room, leaving Draco, Cynder and Bowser to converse among themselves while watching over me. "I'm worried for the small guy. Mewtwo may be pushing him a bit too hard." Cynder says to Draco. "Remember Cynder, this is to help Charonus strengthen himself, inside and out," replies Bowser. Cynder answers back, "I know, but it is too much, too quickly." Draco responds, "It's going to be fine Cynder, like Mewtwo said, if we believe in Charonus, he will be capable of great things. Besides, if it gets too hairy for the little guy, we can step in and help." Bowser says, "Would Mewtwo even allow that, it is Charonus' training after all." Mewtwo, hearing the trio's conversation re-enters the room. "You know, I was planning to have the little one face all three at once after his training with clone Blastoise was complete, but you are right Cynder. Having him do such a thing would be hard on the little one, and may even backfire in what we are trying to accomplish here. Therefore I shall make that training session into a three on three session. Charonus shall be aided by Draco and Bowser." As Mewtwo explains the rest of the training, Charonus falls into a deeper sleep.

Charonus looks around within his dreamscape once more and sees his subconscious self shaking in the corner of the dreamscape cave. "Hey, what's wrong?" Charonus asks. His subconscious responds, "W-we have to face the B-Blastoise next..." Charonus comes closer, "I know, but if you lend me your power again I know we can get through this." His subconscious responds again, "It may not be as simple this time...I may get overwhelmed in the face of our weakness and unleash something I don't want to..." Charonus looks down at the cave floor, "I see, but to me you have already proven a form of courage by admitting to me, to yourself, that you are afraid. That, in time will bring out a different power. Not one of rage and anger, but a more controlled power. Let us work together to face this and see it through." Charonus looks back up at his subconscious self, "If we can pull this final training off, that will bring us one step closer to being in true balance with each other." Charonus' subconscious gives a slight nod, "I will try my best." As his subconscious says this, Charonus slowly wakes up to see Draco, Cynder and Bowser. "Look who finally decided to wake up," Bowser chuckles. "Hey...who is the one going through training here? I think I deserved my rest." Charonus responds, trying to hold back a chuckle himself. "Alright guys, maybe we should let Mewtwo know that Charonus has awakened." Cynder says to the group.

Mewtwo hears the group make their way downstairs as he talks with the Blastoise about Charonus' training session. "Ah, speaking of the little one, he must finally be awake." He looks over to the group, "Clone Blastoise and myself have come to an agreement, there shall be no training for you today young Charonus, consider this a day off to do what you want. Prepare yourself, spend time with friends, whatever you wish." Charonus smiles at this bit of news, always wanting to get to know his friends from another world better. He spends the day, asking Draco and his group about their world, and they in turn ask questions about the Pokeworld. The day goes by, jokes are had, and a sense of ease is had by all. The following day arrives. Charonus wakes up and gets ready, coming down and seeing the clone Blastoise waiting. "Today is the day young one." Charonus gulps slightly, knowing that this training will be quite difficult. "Just like the other training you have gone through, you must have your aspects in balance or you will fail to pass the session, I hope you show me your strength, your knowledge, as well as your bravery. Show me that you can bring them all into balance, for that is the true key to unlocking the hidden potential within yourself." Charonus follows the Blastoise clone, still a little apprehensive at the situation he faces, but he prepares himself. "Ah, I can see it in your eyes young one, your resolve to get through, but I also see your fear. Do not let the fear control you. Show me the Charizard within." With that, the clone Blastoise prepares his water barriers, separating himself from Charonus in a similar fashion to the other training sessions. "One hour starts NOW!"

As Charonus contemplates his first move in the training session, his friends Bowser, Draco and Cynder give him some words of encouragement. Feeling a little more confidence from their words, Charonus sets forth with a Flame Charge. Charonus slams into the first water wall hard, trying with all his might to push through. managing to get inside. Once inside, he looks around seeing the area littered with bubbles. "This looks like a minefield," Charonus says aloud. The clone Blastoise responds, "It is. These bubbles will detonate and damage you if you get too close, releasing a different water attack and possibly setting more off." Charonus takes a step back when he hears this, backing up to the water wall behind him, making sure to keep his tail flame out of the water. "You must overcome that fear you have, if not you will never reach me in time, " the clone Blastoise tells Charonus. As Charonus stands there in a fearful state, his subconscious self speaks to him from within his head. "T-this may be too much...you can feel it too, but the words you left me with...they do ring true to me, and I will help us to get through this. Lets show this bloated turtle what we are capable of." With that, the same mingled aura that Charonus showed at Cinnabar forms up over his body, only this time it is a normal Charizard shape, rather than a demonic one. "Hmmm, interesting. What do you plan to do with that aura young Charmander?" Charonus just looks forward towards where the Blastoise clone is, then speeds forward with another Flame Charge. Charonus hits several bubbles on his way forward, setting them off and releasing their water attack contents, attacks ranging from Water Gun, to Water Pulse and Water Spout. Charonus manages to dodge all the attacks swiftly, making it to the next water wall.

As Charonus reaches the next wall, he unleashes another Flame Charge, blasting through the water barrier and nearly running into a Whirlpool. "W-whoa! That was a close one." Charonus takes a couple steps back to assess the situation he's in. As he looks around he sees more of the same Bubble attacks litytering the area, and mthe Whirlpool attack that takes up most of the space of the chamber he's in. "I want to see your bravery young one, surpass your weakness of water and prove you can overcome fear. You have 35 minutes to go." Charonus looks at his options, and decides on going around the Whirlpool. He manages to get a quarter of the way around before a Bubble he didn't keep his eye on goes off, unleashing it's water attack contents. A Water Pulse slams hard into Charonus, knocking him off of his feet and into the edge of the Whirlpool. Charonus tries his best to keep his tailflame out of the water, as well as trying to stay afloat. The aura surrounding Charonus dissipates as he continues his struggles against the powerful, swirling currents. "I must get out of here!" Charonus says in a panicked state. As he continues to struggle, he hears a voice inside his mind. "Young one, do not panic, it will only serve to tire you out. Focus your energy and find a way to get out." Hearing this voice somehow calms Charonus. He lays on his back, his tailflame out of the water and floats in the Whirlpool, looking at his options.

Bowser and Draco look on in concern, "Why is he just laying there? He's going to be drawn into the center of that Whirlpool if he doesn't do something fast." Bowser says, looking like he wants to leap into the fray to help Charonus. "Just be patient Bowser, watch and learn what happens when the aspects of Knowledge, Strength and Bravery come into balance," the Mewtwo responds to Bowser's outcry. Meanwhile, Charonus takes note of his descent towards the center of the Whirlpool and remembers the attack his mother left to him from his training with clone Charizard. "Hmmm...this could work to get me out and through the next barrier, but I have to time my Hidden Power and my Flame Charge just right." Charonus takes a deep breath and flips onto his belly, making sure to keep his tail away from the water. He gathers his resolve and waits until he's near the water wall he wants to bust through. Seeing his opportunity, Charonus unleashes his Hidden Power down at the Whirlpool, sending him upwards into the air. Once he gains sufficient height, Charonus rockets forward with a Flame Charge, slamming into the wall hard and managing to barely push through.

Well done little one, but the trial isn't over yet. One more section remains for you to overcome, and you only have 10 minutes left," The clone Blastoise says. Charonus looks over at the next wall, breathing quite heavilly from exhaustion. He hears the clone Blastoise speak again, "Better be on the move young one, the Bubbles here contain my most powerful water attacks. They will sweep you away in no time." As a show, the clone Blastoise pops one of the Bubbles that is near the back water wall where he is and it unleashes a powerful Hydro Pump attack back towards the wall. Charonus stands there, now terrified of what he just saw. "I...I can't do this...it's too much. No young Pokemon should have to go through this." Charonus starts to lose himself to his own fear, his sense of the world disappearing around him as he drifts once more into his subconscious.

Charonus desperately looks around in the Seafoam Island caves of his mind, searching for his Charizard subconscious. "Where are you, I need your help." Charonus hears a pained roar behind him, but before he can turn around, he gets pounced on by his Charizard inner self. "Tell him to stop or I will! I can't hold myself back anymore!" When Charonus is able to turn to face his inner self, he sees a horrible, demonic figure. Charonus tries to get out of the grasp of the demonic Charizard, but it is no use due to the fear that is overcoming him, both in the face of the trial, and his warped subconscious. "Let me go, please...I...must finish this, despite my fear. I must finish for the both of us. Can't you see what this fear is doing to you, to us. I may be fearful of what I have seen, but the true test is to overcome that fear, to bring Bravery into balance with my Knowledge and Strength...if not I will hurt many more innocents than at Cinnabar...and I don't want any more deaths on my conscience." Charonus looks straight into the eyes of his inner Charizard. "Show me that we can overcome this, I need your help." Charonus' subconscious responds, "I...I can try...but it is really hard. I'm close to breaking...I don't want to go through this again, please don't make me." Charonus responds, "I can't make any promises, but we can show that clone Blastoise the true power of fire that we showed the Charizard clone, you know what I mean." Charonus' inner self nods as he begins to calm down, changing back to a normal Charizard.

Charonus comes to slowly and stands up. He looks at his final obstacle again, still fearful, but with a new sense of confidence that he can overcome this trial. He brings up the aura he used earlier. "Only one minute left young one, if you are going to succeed, you must do it now," The Blastoise says. Charonus looks deep within himself for any strength available. "I only get one shot...please let this count." Charonus takes a deep breath as the air gets heavy and hot. The Blastoise smiles, knowing Charonus unleashed Sunny Day to power up his last ditch effort. Charonus speaks one more time, "I am giving thiis my all...I may not win, but this effort will not go to waste!" Charonus opens his mouth wide and manages to unleash a Fire Blast attack towards the water wall and the clone Blastoise. The Blastoise, being unprepared for an attack of that magnitude from a little Charmander, tries to defend the best he can, but as the attack closes in, it evaporates any water that comes into contact with it.

The Fire Blast slams into the water wall, evaporating it, and slamming into the Blastoise, sending him backwards and into the water that surrounds the training field. Charonus, putting everything into that attack, collapses on the spot. Draco, Cynder and Bowser run over to Charonus. "Charonus, are you ok!?" askes Draco. Mewtwo also comes over to check on Charonus. "He just seems to be unconscious, but other than that, he looks fine." Cynder asks Mewtwo, "What about his training? He didn't touch the Blastoise in time..." Mewtwo smiles, "But that is where you are wrong Cynder, he managed to just do it, with his attack. When I said that he must touch his target within an hour, that meant by any means, not just physical touch." Bowser looks up at Mewtwo, "Wait, that means he passed?" Mewtwo responds, "Yes, with flying colors. Now lets get this little one inside for a well deserved rest, no matter how long that may be." The clone Blastoise comes out of the water with a Fire Blast mark on his shell, "Wow...I never imagined a small Charmander could have that kind of strength." Mewtwo looks him over, "Everyone has great power inside, but you must have balance to pull it out. Learn well from this Blastoise. Now lets get you and the little one inside to get patched up." The group retires to the house to reflect over what transpired, and to prepare for future endeavors, especially Bowser and Draco, for their battle alongside Charonus soon aproaches.


	8. Chapter 8

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 8: The Three Attributes of Balance**

It has been several weeks since Charonus' training with the clone Blastoise. Every day Draco, Cynder and Bowser come into his room to check on how he is doing. Some days Charonus sleeps the whole day, while others he is able to be up for only a couple hours at a time. On this day Charonus is awake somewhat. "Hey, how are you doing buddy?" asks Draco. "I still feel quite drained...training to learn balance really is taking it out of me." Charonus answers while he holds his head in one of his paws. "Take it easy young one, don't push yourself," says Cynder, a look of concern on her face. "Cynder is right Charonus. You need all the rest you can get right now after using up all your power in your last training session." adds Bowser. Just then Mewtwo comes in, carrying some food for the young Charmander, as well as some food for his three friends. "I hope you enjoy what I have for you today young one. I happened to get some provisions from the Charizard shrine of assorted meats for you guys to share, and I managed to get some fish as well for you Cynder." Charonus' eyes light up at the thought of food, seeing as he mostly has been sleeping the days away to regain his strength and not eating regularly. The group eats their food, Charonus and Bowser ravenously eating the various meats as they usually do, and Draco chowing down on the dim sums that Mewtwo provided. Cynder rolls her eyes some as she watches the others eat their meal, she daintily eats her fish. After the meal Charonus lets out a big yawn as he lays down once more. "Looks like I need some more sleep...hopefully soon I will be able to stay awake normally." he says. "One thing at a time Charonus, you shouldn't rush these things" says Mewtwo. "Sleep well buddy, good dreams," says Draco as the group exits his room to let him sleep.

As Charonus sleeps, his dreams show him the same places he has seen multiple times now, as if they seem to be places he will see in his future. During times that he is awake, he ponders over what these places are, and why he keeps seeing them. His dreams eventually take him back to his Seafoam cavescape where his subconscious resides. "Having the same dreams again?" Charonus' subconscious asks. "Yeah...I just don't understand what it all means. I keep seeing the same places. A building that seems to have lightning inside, icy caves that are kinda like our birthcaves, and a winding cave network, and those are just the more immediate ones I keep seeing." Charonus replies. Charonus' subconscious sits up, "I hope we can work through this and find out what it all means." "I think the next time I am awake that I will ask Mewtwo. Maybe he would know what it means." Several days pass, as Mewtwo is checking on Charonus, he slowly wakes up. "Ah, the little one wakes again," Mewtwo smiles. "How are you feeling now?" Mewtwo asks. "I'm feeling better somewhat, but I really am getting tired of sleeping all this time," Charonus responds. "I see, maybe you could try to stay up a bit longer every time you are up," Mewtwo says. Charonus looks up at Mewtwo, "Also there is something I want to ask...I keep having these same dreams while I sleep, showing me different places that I have never seen before." Mewtwo looks at Charonus inquisitively, "What kind of places, can you describe them to me. I might know what you are talking about." Charonus recalls the places from his dreams and tells Mewtwo about them. "Ah, I see, I do happen to know of the places you speak of. The building of lightning you keep seeing is the Cerulean power plant, the ice caves that you think look like your birth home are indeed the Seafoam Islands, the ice caves there specifically, and the cave network is the area called Victory Road, nearby the Indigo Plateau. As for why you keep seeing them, I think I have an answer to that. You are probably seeing them because that is where it is rumored the legendary birds of Kanto, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres reside." Charonus nods, "Hmmm...and as I heard from that Charizard at the shrine, I will have to train with them as well, huh?" Mewtwo responds, "That is correct, they will help you on your way to mastering an aspect of balance." Charonus ponders a moment, then asks Mewtwo, "What about the other areas I keep seeing as well?" Mewtwo responds, "I only know of areas in this region, and some of the next region of Johto to the west, but as for the other regions, I would have no idea, but if it's anything like the three places I have told you about, it may be places that other legends reside. Continue on your journey and you may discover what those places are." Charonus, filled with a sense of exitement, smiles at Mewtwo as he once again lays down.

Two days later, Charonus is awake and telling Draco, Cynder and Bowser about his dreams. "That is quite impressive, all of these different places in your world. It would sure be fun to see them all," says Draco. "I don't really think we can afford that luxury, we will someday have to return to our own homeworld Draco, " says Cynder. Charonus looks down, saddened a little by what Cynder said. "Hopefully it's not too soon, I would still need help getting around, seeing as I don't fly." "Hey, as long as we are able to help, we will stay with you," Bowser says, laughing a little and hugging the Charmander. Mewtwo comes into the room, wondering what the group is talking about. The group tells Mewtwo of the different places they have heard of from Charonus. "Ah, I see, he's been telling you of his dreams. Hopefully you three will be able to see the wonders of the areas this world has." Bowser says, "As long as the little one needs us, we will be there for him, wether it is the defence of my iron like shell, the power of Draco's flames, or the planning of Cynder's mind, we will be there." The group laughs somewhat. "What was that all about Bowser?" Cynder asks. "I just thought it would make Charonus feel a little better." Charonus, still giggling a little says, "It sure does, you are a regular jokester." Bowser smiles a bit.

The next day, Charonus gets up bright and early, even coming out of his room. "Someone looks like they are feeling a lot better," says the Charizard clone, who is preparing breakfast for the house. "Yeah, I finally feel back to my normal self, maybe even feeling more powerful than before too." "That is great to hear, maybe you can train some more soon," the Charizard clone says. Charonus responds, "Yeah, I hope so too, but isn't my next challenge against all three of you? I'm not sure I can handle that." Mewtwo, hearing that Charonus is up, comes over to him. "You don't have to worry about that. I have talked it over with the clones and Draco's group, and come to an agreement between them. The training session will be a three on three session now. You, Draco, and Bowser shall train against the clones." Charonus smiles at this news, "That is great to hear, I get to see my new friends in action." Mewtwo responds, "Yes, but remember that this is still a test to see if you have the attributes in balance within you. I will be looking for signs during this training session." Charonus nods his head as Mewtwo continues speaking, "I will also be looking for these signs in your friends as well. You four should prepare yourselves for the training." Charonus looks at Mewtwo inquisitively, "Wait, four? I thought it was just Draco, Bowser and myself versus the clones." Mewtwo responds, "Yes, but when I said that I will be testing all of you, that also includes Cynder. I see within her a cunning mind, able to plan strategies and lead others well. I wish to put that to the test." At that moment, Cynder, Draco and Bowser show up from outside after a training session between them. Cynder responds to Mewtwo's last statement while blushing a little, "You give me too much credit, All I have learned has come from Master Blaze back where I come from." Mewtwo smiles, "And this Master Blaze has taught you well, but part of what makes you so well apt for this task of leading them is your own self. Never doubt your own capabilities and you will go far. Now prepare yourselves today, for tomorrow I will outline the training rules and the battle will begin."

The following day, the group gathers at the training ground to listen to Mewtwo's explanation of the days training session. "Cynder, Draco, Bowser and Charonus, todays training will see how well your group can act as a team. Cynder will be the team leader, directing your team and hopefully leading to a favorable outcome. Draco and Bowser will be like a shield for young Charonus, and Charonus, I want you to do like you have done in the other training sessions. The time limit in this training shall be two hours instead of one hour. I also warn you, the three clones combined have some powerful synergy. I have confidence in your abilities, so this shall be a true battle of the three attributes." The group listens to Mewtwo's explanation, then Charonus speaks up, "A true battle? Does that mean my friends have to fight?" Mewtwo responds, "It does, as I have stated, they shall be your shield as you try to tap the clones, either with your abilities or physically. Once one of the clones has been tapped, they are out of the battle, but if Draco, Bowser or yourself Charonus gets knocked out of the training area, then you are out." Draco looks up, "I'm not so sure about this." Bowser places his arm upon Draco's back, "Hey, this is to help out our friend, and this way I can show off my iron defence. We will do great in protecting the little Charmander. Cynder's wits, My iron defence, and your firepower will ensure that Charonus will succeed." Charonus smiles, "You should give some of that courage out to your friends more often." Mewtwo summons the clones forward, "Everyone, take your positions, the training session shall commense now!"

The clones ready themselves at one end of the training area as Draco, Bowser and Charonus take a position at the other end. Bowser and Draco stand in front of the little Charmander like a shield. "Don't worry, we will protect you," Bowser says as he readys himself for anything. The clones nod to each other, then the Blastoise steps forward, shielding his cohorts from flames that could come their way. Cynder urges the group to be careful, "That Blastoise will stop any flames sent their way. It may be wise to use physical attacks for now until the Blastoise is dealt with." Draco and Bowser nod to eachother, "I'll deal with the Blastoise, you deal with the Charizard, Draco." Draco responds, "Got it" The duo head off to deal with their respective targets. As this is going on, Charonus cloaks himself once again in the Charizard aura and looks at Venusaur, "I thank you for your time in training me. This training will not go to waste." The Venusaur smiles, "I'm glad to hear you say this, but I will not go easy on you after what I have seen from you. Now touch me , if you can." The Venusaur waits for Charonus' first move.

The Blastoise clone, sensing their intended strategy nods to the Venusaur clone, "Lets see if we can slow them down, shall we Venusaur." Venusaur answers back, "Yes, we shall." The duo look at the oncoming trio and use a pair of linked abilities, Water Pledge and Grass Pledge, to create a muddy swamp that hampers the movements of anyone that walks through it. Cynder, seeing this, urges Draco to fly over. Charonus sees an opportunity and jumps onto Draco's back as he takes aim at the Venusaur to try and take him out first. Mewtwo watches from the sidelines at the battle, smiling at the maneuver that Charonus pulled, "Looks like Charonus has plenty of knowledge on his side, but how fares his strength and bravery. Can he pull this off?" Draco flies in low, headed towards the Venusaur, but the Charizard stands in his Charizard lets out a roar, sending a slew of Flame Bursts towards Draco and Charonus. Draco tries avoiding the fire to the best of his ability, but is eventually grazed on his wing, knocking his equilibrium off and spinning out of control. Charonus manages to hang on to Draco just long enough to get closer to his target, jumping from Draco's back and letting off a salvo of his own. The salvo of Flame Bursts manage to hit their intended mark, singing Venusaur and even managing to hit the Charizard with the bursting flames. Draco meanwhile lands outside the battle area. "Venusaur, Charizard and Draco are out," calls Mewtwo as the three join him on the sidelines.

That was a big risk that you and Charonus took Draco, but it payed off," says the Charizard. "I never expected Charonus to do something like that against us, he is quite full of surprises." says the Venusaur, "But it's not over yet, the Blastoise is still able to fight, and it looks like Bowser is having a tough time with the water that he can dish out." Draco, puts his focus back on the battle and sees that indeed Bowser is being pushed back by Blastoise and his heavy hitting Hydro Pump. "Bowser, hang in there, use your abilities to get back into the game," Cynder calls out to him. Bowser, digging deep and thinking of a way to get out of this predicament, decides to retract into his shell and use his Whirling Fortress to cut through the water stream. Meanwhile, Charonus looks upon this exchange and plans his next move, but the Blastoise has been keeping a trained eye on him as well and sends his Bubble mines to cause a distraction. "Careful Charonus, those are the same attacks from your earlier training. Find a way through them safely," Cynder calls out. "I know, thank you Cynder," responds Charonus. Bowser manages to push through the Hydro Pump and reach the Blastoise, pushing him back a bit. "I see that you are determined my Koopa rival, lets put that shell to the test against mine shall we," Says the Blastoise. "But what about your objective, shouldn't you concentrate on that?" Bowser responds. "I have kept the little one busy with my Bubble mines, and that swamp will slow him down just enough," says the Blastoise as he counters Bowser's Whirling Fortress with his own Rapid Spin. Charonus looks at the minefield before him, as well as the tussle taking place between Blastoise and Bowser, seeing them spin around each other as they continue their attacks, trying to push each other out. "this is really getting intense...if I want to get through this I need to plan carefully, but quickly. That last bout with Draco and myself versus the Venusaur and Charizard took a good bit of time."

Charonus slowly and methodically makes his way closer to the continuing battle through the minefield, watching at every step. He looks up and sees that Bowser is slowly being pushed back some. "Come on, just hold in there a little longer, please. I'll be there soon to help out." As Charonus finds a spot to try and take a shot, but he finds it hard to take aim with the pair spinning around each other. "What am I to do?" asks Charonus to himself. As Charonus thinks, he is unaware that the minefield begins to shift, and Bubbles drift towards where he is. "Careful Charonus, Blastoise has set the Bubble mines to attack you!" Charonus snaps out of his thoughts just in time to avoid a mine that was really close to hitting him. "No time to think...I may just have to take a shot and hope for the best." Charonus gathers his strength while remaining on the move, keeping an eye on not only the Bubble mines, but the clashing turtles. His aura turns completely orange as it gathers into his maw. "Sorry about this Bowser...but I must to complete this training." Charonus takes aim and unleashes a Fire Blast, aiming at where the Blastoise hopefully will be. The Blastoise senses this and is able to slow his and Bowser's rotation somewhat to try and not get hit by the attack while having Bowser get hit, but it was too little too late as the Fire Blast hits squarely on both of them, sending them both out of the ring and into the water. Mewtwo nods at this, "That was a wonderful showing, masterful use of your Strength and Knowledge, and even your Bravery in taking a shot that could of hurt an ally." Bowser and the Blastoise climb out of the water, "That was one heck of a fire attack, glad I'm so resilient to damage from fire," says Bowser. The Blastoise shakes himself off, "You said it Bowser, that is twice I have had to experience that. Good thing he has more control over it now."

Mewtwo gathers everyone together, "Now then, after watching this training session, I have a few things that I want you to take note of. First thing is excellent work to Cynder in her leading the group. Second, watching the teamwork that Draco and Charonus displayed in getting to Charizard and Venusaur, well done. That showed not only great knowledge on Charonus' part, but great bravery in facing down tough opposition from Draco. Third is the way Bowser was able to keep the Blastoise concentrating on himself while Charonus snuck up to get a shot showed not only the strength of Bowser's will, but the knowledge of the situation at hand. In all I say well done, you three were able to lead Charonus to victory. For this I believe that he is more than capable of going through my training where I will personally teach him how to unlock within himself moves that are normally not available to his species, moves that are powerful, but require great balance within one self to use properly. Let us retire for now and reflect on what has happened here today, but also what the future will hold for the young Charmander."

As the speach comes to a close, the group retires to the house and spends the rest of the day conversing about what may happen soon.


	9. Chapter 9

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 9: The Psychic Master's Trial**

Charonus sleeps well following his last training session, knowing that he has proven himself well to Mewtwo. As he sleeps, he stands in his dreamscape and sees his subconscious self smiling. "We managed to do it. We have made it through Mewtwo's training." "Yes, but remember, we still have a long road ahead of us. We must complete all of our training with the other legends to hopefully get the Pokecores of Mom and Dad back from Shadow Mewtwo," Charonus says back. "I know...I just hope that he isn't causing evil with their powers," Charonus' subconscious says back. As Charonus sleeps, Mewtwo is preparing himself mentally, making sure he is ready to instruct the young Charmander in the use of his psychic abilities.

The following morning, both Charonus and Mewtwo meet up out at the training field. The others, not wanting to miss seeing Mewtwo instruct someone, come out and take seats nearby. "This is it young one, if you are successful in your training, you will learn powerful techniques that shall help you in your quest. There are things I will warn you of before hand though. Seeing as these moves are not normally native to your species, they will cause considerable drain on you when you use them, but with your attributes in proper balance, I have a feeling that you will know when the time is right to use them." As Mewtwo says this, Charonus nods in understanding. "This training will help unlock within you a portion of the ability that all Pokemon have inherited from the great ancestor to all Pokemon." Charonus breaths deeply, "I'm ready to learn Mewtwo." Mewtwo smiles and instructs Charonus to close his eyes and bring himself to his dreamscape while remaining awake. "This is a test as much for your subconscious as it is for your waking self, but there is also more young one, but first try to bring yourself to your dreamscape." Charonus concentrates, but he finds it difficult to bring himself to his dreamscape in a waking state. "Try to empty your thoughts, bring a calm stillness to your mind, then focus on aligning your soul, once that is achieved, bring it forth to the waking world and through your body." Charonus listens to Mewtwo's words and tries to put the advice into action.

" _Empty my thoughts...easier said than done_." Charonus thinks to himself. Charonus keeps trying to reach his dreamscape with Mewtwo monitoring his progress. Charonus starts to hit a deeper calm to his mind, his aura slowly coming out and wrapping itself around him. Mewtwo smiles at this knowing that Charonus is achieving the first step in bringing his dreamscape out while awake. Charonus continues as his soul aligns with the same calm as his mind. Charonus' aura begins to separate from his body and begins to warp strangely, a thin wisp still connecting to him at his chest. Draco's group looks on, not believing what they are seeing. "What is going on with his aura?" Draco whispers to Cynder. "I'm not sure, this seems strange to me, like a strange out of body experience," Cynder whispers back. Mewtwo continues to monitor the situation as the aura coalesces into the form of a Charizard. "Good, Charonus seems to be almost ready. Charonus continues to reach a state of extreme calm, but he is still able to percieve the world around him, He eventually pushes his calm out to his body, and once he does, he feels himself travel along the wisp of aura and enter the Charizard on the other side. The Charizard shaped aura solidifies into that of a full Charizard. It opens its eyes and looks around, eventually looking down at the small Charmander beside him. "H-huh? what is going on."

Mewtwo looks at the Charizard, seeing that the aura wisp is still connecting the pair. "Excellent, you have achieved a form of pure balance young one." Draco and his group are astonished that such a thing has happened. "I don't understand this. What is going on with Charonus?" Bowser calls out to Mewtwo. "I have instructed Charonus to bring his inner self out to better facilitate the learning of these techniques of mine. While a Charmander can use these techniques once learned, it takes a full fledged evolution to actually learn them, thus I had to help Charonus bring his subconscious to the front, but also have him take control of it. For the time being, Charonus is a Charizard and his subconscious self is in his Charmander body for safe keeping." Bowser scratches the back of his head, still not quite understanding all of this. Charonus looks over his temporary body, from his wings and orange scales, to the powerful tailflame he has. "This is quite strange to me...I don't know if I will ever get used to this once back to normal." Mewtwo looks at Charonus, "As long as you train to learn the techniques I will teach to you, you will rely on this form, but doing this will drain your energy, so you will only be able to train for about an hour tops each time you train, any more and you do risk serious side effects and possibly losing your sense of self." "I understand, and I am willing to go through with this," Charonus says.

Mewtwo gathers up some psychic energy, "The first technique I will impart to you is a shield of psychic force that protects from physical attacks, known as Reflect." Mewtwo shows the move to Charonus, being able to produce it with no effort at all. Charonus watches as Mewtwo conjures Reflect, keeping careful watch on his movements and energy. "I think I got it," Charonus says as he tries to produce a Reflect of his own. Energy gathers around Charonus' clawed fingers as he tries to replicate Mewtwo's movements, and as he finishes the move the energies release, but nothing happens. "Good for a first try Charonus. Do not get discouraged if you don't get it right away. As I have mentioned before, this is not a move that is native to the Charmander line." Charonus looks over at Mewtwo, "I can feel the energies, but I seem to lose them in the last step." "That is alright, if you keep at it, it will come to you in time." Charonus continues to train in trying to bring a Reflect forth, eventually being able to bring a small Reflect up before his hour ends. Mewtwo then instructs Charonus on how to reverse the process that he has gone through to bring his subconscious' body to the real world. Charonus feels himself pulled back into his own body, and as the Charizard body returns to it's aura form and re enters Charonus' body, he slowly opens his eyes. "T-that...was quite weird." Draco comes over to Charonus, "You said it, I have never seen any technique like that before." Charonus yawns, "Mewtwo is right though...it really takes a lot out of me..." Charonus slowly stands up and makes his way to the house to rest.

As Charonus sleeps that night, he meets up with his subconscious, "That...was quite the experience. Having the waking mind take control of the dream body is very strange indeed." Charonus responds, "It sure is, but being able to bring the dream body forth and make it real for this training is helpful, yet draining." Charonus' subconscious sighs a little, "Just don't go overboard. As Mewtwo said, there is a possibility of losing yourself." Charonus nods, "I will take care and stick to Mewtwo's guidelines. Also if I'm not feeling good sometime, then I won't train that day, I promise you that." Charonus' subconscious smiles as he returns to the waking world to train some more. Charonus continues to practice in his Charizard form every day, eventually getting quite good at Reflect. "Very good Charonus, I am impressed with your continued effort, now I will impart another technique to you. It is the sister shield that protects against things like Flamethrower and skills like that. It is called Light Screen." Once again Mewtwo displays the move to Charonus, but instead of Reflect being produced, a Light Screen is instead made. "In order to do this, you must change the energies before bringing them out. If you can master changing energies, then it will be easier for other training down the line as well." "I will try, hope I can get used to this too," Charonus says. "I have faith in you Charonus, just as you have learned Reflect in a relatively short time, I believe you can learn this quickly as well. Master this then I will instruct you in one last technique, an attack technique that will leave you drained, but is powerful against your enemies for a desparation hit. My hope is that you will never have to use it though." Charonus responds, "I understand that well Mewtwo...I will try to adhere to balance and use the three attributes to find the best way out of any problem." Mewtwo smiles, "I'm glad to hear you say that. We both have had troubles in our past. Let us strive to make this world better."

Charonus continues to practice on learning to control and change energies to make a Light Screen. Several days pass and every day Draco and his group watch as the Charmander before them learns and grows, eventually making a pretty respectable Light Screen. "Well done little guy...well, not so little right now," Bowser says as he comes closer to Charonus. "I think I have the hang of this now, I just hope I can learn the last thing Mewtwo wants to teach me," Charonus says back as he prepares to return to his own body. "I'm sure you will young one," Mewtwo says as he comes over to the Charizard, "You have done well so far, so I have no doubt that you will learn my final tech that I will impart to you." As Charonus returns to his Charmander frame, the group prepares to return to the house.

Charonus sleeps well that night, dreaming about future adventures once his training is done with Mewtwo. As he dreams more, he sees more clearly the immediate areas that Mewtwo has told him about. He walks around the Cerulean Power Plant in his dream, trying to peer inside. Charonus manages to find an area that has a large window,. He gets up and takes a look. Inside he sees quite a lot of lightning, and in the center of the lightning storm, he sees a yellow bird with a long beak. It's feathers along it's body charged with electric energy. It stares towards the window, right at Charonus and makes a pleased face, as if knowing that soon it will train him. Charonus wakes up after this, wondering why the bird would be pleased like that. He heads down and meets up with Mewtwo for his final training. "Ah, there you are. I hope you are ready for me to impart to you my final tech." Charonus smiles, but keeps a seriousness about himself, "Yes, I am ready Mewtwo." Charonus once again readies himself by calming his mind, body and soul and once again bringing his inner Charizard self out. "Now, you have learned to control the energy deep within you to use for these abilities, as well as being able to change the energy, today you will learn how to project the energy into an attack." Mewtwo demonstrates by setting a Substitute doll in the center of the training field. "Bring the energies forward and project them into a sphere around your target. Within the sphere of energy, concentrate it into points that surround the target, then control those points inward." As Mewtwo explains this, his psychic energy surrounds the Substitute doll, forming psychic rocks around it. Then the rocks collapse inward, slamming into the doll with great power. "This move, Psystrike, will cause considerable drain upon your being so only use it when you must. As it will cause quite a bit of drain, you will only be able to train for 20 minutes a day while trying to learn this move." Charonus sighs a bit, "I understand, and I will try to not push myself too hard."

Charonus spends the next 2 weeks, training everyday trying to learn Psystrike. Everyday he manages to get better, but Draco's group, as well as Mewtwo and Amber can tell it is taking a toll on him. Charonus' time in his Charizard state starts to weaken in duration by the end, but he eventually succeeds. As he completes the move, he slowly loses his Charizard form and returns to his Charmander body. "T-there...all done..." Charonus collapses on the spot, snoring a little as he sleeps from exhaustion. Mewtwo takes him back to his room to rest. "He has done quite well, but this last move has shown me that he could use a little more balance. Despite telling me he wouldn't, he did push himself a little too hard." Draco frowns a little, "Bravery is a powerful thing, isn't it," he asks Mewtwo. "Yes, it can be a major driving force in many decisions...but it has to be in balance, otherwise it can result in situations like at Cinnabar." The group continues to converse with Mewtwo throughout the rest of the day while Charonus sleeps.

While Charonus sleeps, he has the same dream about the Cerulean Power Plant, only this time the lightning bird gets closer to the window. "I will be waiting for you young Charmander. You will learn the ways of electricity from me." As the lightning bird finishes speaking, Charonus wakes up. He sees all his friends around him and he smiles.


	10. Chapter 10

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 10: The Trio of Mischief and the Building of Thunder**

The morning after Charonus' training with Mewtwo concludes, the group say their goodbyes, and prepare to leave the Cerulean cave. "Thank you for all you have done for me Mewtwo," Charonus smiles and bows. "It was a pleasure to help. Remember to keep practicing the ways of balance during the rest of your training," Mewtwo says back. "I will Mewtwo," Charonus says back, "Now it's time to head out." Amber comes out of the house, carrying some bags and hands them to the group, "Take these, they will surely help you on your journey. They contain plenty of supplies to keep you running." "Thank you Amber for this gift," Cynder says as she takes a bag. The others also take a bag and bow to Amber in thanks. "Take care, and we hope to see you again, and watch out for Team Rocket. I have heard that they may be in the area as of late," Amber says as the group goes to leave the cave. "Thank you Amber, we will keep an eye out for them. I hope we don't run into them." Draco says. The group leaves Mewtwo and Amber, headed towards the cave exit.

Meanwhile, outside the cave, a trio of figures is setting a trap near the entrance. "Are you sure this is the right cave?" Asks a tall, blue haired male. "The boss' report said a strange group of Pokemon has been seen entering this cave months ago." says a tall, red haired woman. The both of them are wearing a white outfit that has a red 'R' prominantly displayed on their shirts. "Will yous guys be quiet, we want to get the drop on these Pokemon, so be silent!" says a white, cat like Pokemon that has a coin affixed to it's forehead. "Why is the boss so interested in them?" asks the female. "The boss thinks that they may be linked with his lost experiment, now will you pipe down!" the cat Pokemon angrily yells back. The trio hides near the entrance when they hear some voices coming from the cave. "I hope my training goes well with the next legend of Kanto," Charonus says. "If you keep believing in yourself, you will do great Charonus," Bowser says back. The group exits the cave and looks around, "It feels good to be out in the open air again." Cynder says. "Yeah, even though the accomodations were good in there, it is good to get back into the sunshine," Draco says as he stretches his wings out. The group hears rustling coming from some nearby bushes and starts to get on edge. "What was that?" Draco asks somewhat worredly. "I don't know Draco, it could be just a Pokemon nearby." says Cynder back. "But it could be Team Rocket too, Amber said they were in the area." Charonus says. "Did yous guys hear that. Someone has tipped them off," whispers the white cat Pokemon. "I wonder who this Amber is," responds the male. "Cynder stops and listens closely to the surroundings suddenly. "Hey, what's up Cynder. Why did you stop all of a sudden?" Asks Draco. "Shhh, I hear people whispering. Tread cautiously," Cynder replies. Just then Bowser steps forth with Charonus closely following behind, stepping on the trap activation pad. A cage springs up and surrounds Bowser and Charonus. "W-what is this?! Where did this cage come from?!"

Draco and Cynder look on, rushing over to the cage to try and open it. An electric pulse gets sent through the cage bars and knocks them back. "Who is responsible for this. Show yourself!" Bowser angrily roars out. Suddenly they hear laughing coming from the bushes as the captors speak.

Prepare for trouble...

...and make it double!

To protect the world from devastation!

To unite all peoples within our nation!

To denounce the evils of truth and love!

To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie!

James!

Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!

Surrender now or prepare to fight!

Meowth, dat's right!

The group just stops and watches as the trio jumps out from behind the bushes after speaking their motto, looking dumbfounded. "What...the heck? Who are these clowns." asks Draco. Meanwhile Charonus' eyes are fixed on the 'R' on their shirts. Bowser looks at Charonus staring at the trio, "Hey, are you alright Charonus?" Charonus says nothing as a strange aura begins to become visible. Jessie takes a look at the the Pokemon in the cage, "That is one strange looking Blastoise." "And look at that dragon over there Jess," James points to the Twilight Storm, "I have never seen that kind of Pokemon before." Suddenly a jet of fire slams into the bars of the cage from the inside, doing some damage to them. As the smoke clears, Charonus can be seen with a twisted Charizard aura. "Team Rocket...the ones who took my family from me..." Bowser trys to calm Charonus down, "H-hey, calm down Charonus, you're scaring even me here." Bowser reaches out a hand towards Charonus, but gets burned. "Yeouch! Is this the malice that was unleashed on Cinnabar? There must be something that can be done to stop this" Team Rocket looks on at the Charmander, James asks Meowth, "Meowth, what did it say?" Meowth looks at James and replies, "The Charmander says that Team Rocket took his family" Charonus unleashes a Fire Blast at the cage, blowing it apart and knocking Bowser to the ground. "All of Team Rocket is my enemy," Charonus continues to look at Team Rocket with the fires of hate in his eyes. "Ummm...you know what Jess. I think we should get out of here," James says. "We have faced worse before from that Pikachu, but you may be right..." Jessie says back. "Snap out of it you two, the boss thinks that these Pokemon must be connected with his secret experiment that escaped years ago, he wants these Pokemon, and thats what we are going to do," says Meowth. Before they can enact another plan, Charonus unleashes a portion of corrupted flame right at the trio, hitting them and sending them sky high. "Team Rocket is blasting off again!" says the trio as they disappear into the sky with a flash of light.

Charonus collapses to the ground, the corrupted aura eventually going away. The group rushes over to him. "Hey buddy, are you alright?" asks Draco. "Why do you think he would of done that?" asks Bowser. "I think his traumatic experience with Team Rocket might be a trigger to his subconscious, bringing out a corrupted self within him," Cynder says back. "All I know is that once he saw that red 'R' on them, he started changing...luckily that was only a fraction of corrupted power. I'm glad we didn't witness another Cinnabar incedent," Bowser wipes his forehead. Charonus starts coming to and looking around, "W-what...happened?" He sees the broken cage and the scorch mark on the ground. "Please don't worry about it, lets just get you to your next training area," says Cynder as she picks Charonus up, "Do we know where we are headed?" Draco takes a look in the bag Amber gave him and finds a map, "Ah, according to this map, it's not that far away, just to the east of Cerulean City. It shouldn't take more than an hour or two to get there." The group nods to each other, keeping secret about Charonus' outburst of corruption, but in the back of their minds they know that they will have to tell him sometime. As the group flies to the power plant, Charonus rests and enters his dreams again. "I-I'm sorry...I lost control again..." says his subconscious, "The red 'R' sets me off..." Charonus looks at the Charizard, "T-the red 'R'?" Charonus thinks a moment and remembers back to the ship him and his parents were taken captive on. He remembers the black clad humans with an 'R' on their clothing, he also remembers to just a moment before he blacked out, the same 'R' on the shirts of the two humans with the Meowth. "Team Rocket...the red 'R'...This could be a problem if this keeps happening...I must double my efforts to balance us. Please try to keep our feelings for that group contained...I don't want any more death on my conscience, please." Charonus taps his subconscious self on the nose and slowly wakes up.

As he wakes, he sees that the group is getting close to the building from his dreams, "Hey, doing alright Charonus?" asks Draco as he carries Charonus closer to the power plant. "Y-yeah...I think so, and sorry for any trouble I caused..." Charonus looks down slightly. "Hey, don't worry yourself. Just focus on your training and hopefully this won't be an issue anymore," Says Bowser. Charonus smiles a bit as the group approaches the window that Charonus saw the lightning bird from in his dream. "Wait, I want to take a peek into that window," says Charonus. "Huh? What's up?" asks Bowser. "There was a lightning bird here in my dreams. I want to see if he is there," Charonus answers back. Draco takes Charonus up to the window, and they both peer inside. In the window they both see the generators of the power plant whirring away, but no signs of the lightning bird from the dream. "This is the right place, but where is the legendary bird?" asks Draco. The group hears a crackle of electricity from behind. Suddenly a bolt of lightning strikes in a clearing behind the group and the form of a bird materialize from the bolt. "I am here," The group watches as the lightning bird comes into view, impressed with not only his entrance, but also the power he exudes. The lightning bird locks eyes with Charonus and makes the same pleased face that Charonus saw in his dream. "I am Zapdos, Kanto's legendary bird of lightning, and I have been expecting you four, especially little Charonus." Charonus looks at Zapdos, "How do you know my name?" he asks. "Mewtwo has told me of your arrival, as well as your wandering dream self," Zapdos answers back. "I just want to know if you are ready for my training. Mewtwo has given you the tools to train in alternate energy manipulation and channeling correct?" Charonus nods, "And I also trust that he has helped you to bring your inner self out to help you train as well? Zapdos questions Charonus. "He has...but can I know what aspect I need for this. What aspect will be trained?" Charonus responds. Zapdos answers, "Ah, the attribute I control is that of Bravery, my brother Articuno controls Knowledge, and my other brother Moltres controls Strength. We keep the attributes in balance between us, one never exceeding the others." Charonus listens to this explanation and smiles, "I see, bravery like the ability to face down the storms of nature themselves. The knowledge to keep oneself safe in nature, and the strength to perservere through nature." Charonus says. "I see Mewtwo has trained you well. Now it is time to impart my training to you. I will train you in the use of two of my abilities, Charge and Zap Cannon. Please prepare yourself for your training." Charonus, listening to Zapdos does as instructed and brings his inner self out once again.

"Now that you are ready, I will teach you about Charge first. Charge will help you make more use out of any electric attack you may learn in your journey. To execute it, you must internalize the energies within and send them through your body. Once achieved, these energies will create a static like barrier upon your scales that will protect you from special attacks like your own Flamethrower slightly. It will also charge up any electric attacks you may use as long as you concentrate on these energies." After Zapdos finishes his explanation, he shows Charonus the ability, pulling in his wings and concentrating on his core as electric pulses finally spread outward along his body. "As with all the training you went through with Mewtwo, you can only train on this for a limited time." "I understand Zapdos," Charonus says as he prepares to train in learning Charge. The others watch as Charonus tries Charge over and over again for an hour. Charonus slowly learns the move, but doesn't quite grasp it before his time training ends for the day. "That is enough young one. You can train more tomorrow," says Zapdos as Charonus stops and reverts back to his waking body. "Your group is welcome to stay with me as long as Charonus is training. The humans hardly come by this power plant, so I have made it my home." The group accepts Zapdos' offer, and over the next few days, continues to watch Charonus train as they stay there. Charonus takes a week to fully learn Charge and is eager to learn the next tech Zapdos will impart to him.

The next day after learning Charge, Zapdos prepares to train Charonus in the use of Zap Cannon. "Now before I teach you in the use of Zap Cannon, there is something I want to know. Why are you training? What is your motivation to train?" Charonus looks down, "I train to repent for the lives lost to my unbalanced rage...to live by the words given to me by some Pokemon I watched sacrifice themselves to horrendus experiments and make sure travesties like that never happen again." Zapdos listens to Charonus' response and smiles, "That is a worthwile reason to train. I also think to help your balance out after you finish your training here that you should head over to the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town and pay respects to the fallen. It may help alleviate the grief you feel for those that passed in your rage." Charonus says back, "I will, thank you for this info." Zapdos says to Charonus, "Now, let me teach you how to perform Zap Cannon. Like Charge, you concentrate on your core, but instead of internalizing the energy, you bring it forth into a sphere of energy and send it at your opponent. The moves energy is unstable however, so it may dissipate before reaching its target, but if it does hit, it will not only deal damage as the energy surrounds them, but it will also lock up a targets muscle response, paralyzing them." Zapdos shows the move off on a substitute doll. "Please train responsibly young one." Charonus nods as he brings his inner self out again to train. He trains every day as much as he can to try and learn Zap Cannon, eventually getting it after an entire two weeks.

The following day, Zapdos gives the group some advice, "Always strive for balance, even in the smallest of tasks, for you never know when imbalance will sow seeds of chaos. It has happened before to even myself and my brothers because of humans, but don't get the wrong impression. Just as there are Pokemon that strive for balance, there are humans that strive for balance as well." Charonus nods, understanding Zapdos' words well. "Now good luck with your training young Charmander. Remember well the lessons you have learned and head off to my brothers. They are expecting your arrival." Charonus says back, "I will, after repenting at the Pokemon tower for those lost in my rage." Zapdos smiles and nods as he takes to the skies, leaving the group for now. The group takes a look at the map and locates the Pokemon Tower. "Looks like it will be a bit to get to Lavender Town, but we should get there before the sun sets today," says Cynder. "Looks like we may have to stay around the town for a bit," says Draco. "Lets worry about that when we get there. I'm sure we can think of some area to camp at," Says Bowser. The group begins their trek to Lavender Town, and the Pokemon Tower.


	11. Chapter 11

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 11: The Tower of the Dead and the Vengeful Spirit**

As the group travels down Route 10 of Kanto, they converse amongst themselves, wondering what the rest of Charonus' training will entail. They also wonder if they will run into that trio from Team Rocket, or even Shadow Mewtwo, knowing they are still out there somewhere. Once through an uneventful trek through Rock Tunnel, the group notices that the air starts getting heavy and unnaturally cold, as well as the skies seeming to darken even though it is still pre evening. "Does anyone else notice the air around here?" asks Draco, "It's giving me the chills." Bowser puts his arm around Draco, "Hey, don't worry buddy, it's just your mind playing with you." Cynder looks at the two, "I hope you're right Bowser. Even myself is getting a little on edge here, but we are close to Lavender Town now. We should think of setting up camp nearby and head into the town tomorrow morning." The group nods to Cynder and searches for a place to set up camp. The group finds a clearing surrounded by some trees. "This spot looks perfect," Cynder remarks as she takes a look in her bag, finding some camp supplies. "I wonder, what didn't Amber pack in these things. They seem capable to hold way more than they should," remarks Bowser. The group laughs a little. As they settle in for the night around a campfire, Bowser smiles and tells the group some ghost stories, managing to scare Draco and Charonus a small bit. "Alright Bowser, are you trying to make them stay up all night?" asks Cynder. "It's all in good fun, besides the setting seemed right," says Bowser. "True, but the air around here seems unnatural..." Charonus says, "I wonder what is causing this." Cynder tryes to assure the small Charmander that it is nothing, eventually settling him down. The group turns in for the night, but somewhere, something watches them.

The following morning, the group packs up their camp and proceeds to head off into Lavender Town to visit the Pokemon Tower. As they get closer to the town, they hear something like crying in the distance. "Huh? Who could that be?" asks Charonus. "It sounds like someone is crying from the area the town is at." The group continues to walk closer, eventually entering the town. The air is still heavy, cold, and dark as they arrive. "This town is sure creepy..." Draco says. Suddenly they hear the crying, even louder and coming from the tower. A local Cubone meets the group, "If you're planning on going into Pokemon Tower, I suggest you just be on your way." The group look at the Cubone inquisitively. "Why is that? What is going on?" asks Charonus. "Ever since Team Rocket has been in the area, a pretty angry ghost type has been seen taking residence within the tower. Many pokemon around here suspect that it may be the mother of a Cubone that went missing several months ago. Many of the evolved Pokemon were taken, and the ones that couldn't be controlled were killed. The kids of the fallen Pokemon were also taken as well." Charonus looks down, letting out a tear after hearing this. "I must go...I feel even more determined to repent for past transgressions I have made." The Cubone nods solemnly, "I understand. Just be careful in there."

As the group gets closer to the tower, the crying gets louder, and Charonus swears he hears someone speaking. "Huh...What was that?" Draco looks over at Charonus, "Having second thoughts? I wouldn't fault you if you wanted to leave." Charonus looks at Draco, "No...but I could swear the crying person or Pokemon is calling out for their son." Following Charonus, the group enters the first floor of the tower. "The air is really heavy and thick in here," remarks Bowser. "Even more than out in the town," says Cynder. Draco looks around worredly, "Ever get the feeling that something is watching you?" Charonus looks around, "I know what you mean...but let us press on, please. I must do this to help my balance." As the group continues to move forward, eventually reaching the second floor, they start to hear the sounds of other Pokemon around, but are unable to see any. "This tower is even starting to creep me out," Bowser says as he sticks a little closer to the group. As the group moves further and further up the tower, the air gets more and more foreboding. "I have a feeling that we shouldn't really be in here guys," Draco says as he hides behind Bowser a bit. "I will press forward Draco. Please allow me to repent." Charonus says back, feeling the same as Draco, but wanting to see this through to the end.

As the group enters the fifth floor of the tower, they hear the crying intensify. "We must be getting closer to the source," says group make their way forward, getting more and more on edge the closer they get to the source of the crying. "I'm not liking this...we should turn back," says Draco. "I'm sorry, but I can't turn back...I want to reach the top of the tower. Think of this as a test of Bravery. Please stick with me until the end," Charonus says. "I will try, as long as my friends are with me, I can get through this," Draco responds back. The group continues up to the sixth floor and encounter a strange sight. All around them, many eyes seem to peer at them from nothingness. "W-what is this?" asks Draco as he looks around the area. "I d-don't know...this is creeping me out," responds Bowser. Several pair of eyes proceed to brush by the group, as if trying to move away from something. "Get out now, while you still can!" says a disembodied voice. "The top floor is dangerous," says another. "Turn away now," yet another voice says. Charonus looks around, "I can't, I came here on a mission to repent for lost ones. I must press on." A purple bodied Pokemon with reddish eyes materializes behind the group, "A foolish quest for one so young." The group jumps up, scared by this Pokemon. They turn to face it. "There is no rest for lost souls here as long as that crying Pokemon is here, she has been lamenting here for the last couple of months," the ghost Pokemon says. The group listens to this. "There must be something that can be done," says Cynder. "It is a fools folly to try, none of us here can hope to take that Pokemon on, peacefully or otherwise. She sees us as enemies," says the Pokemon. "I will try, as part of my repenting. I must repent for all those who fell to Team Rocket's experiments...and to me when Cinnabar Island was destroyed." The Pokemon looks down, "I understand. I hope that I will see you again, hopefully in success. For all the ghost types in this tower, this Gengar wishes you luck." The Gengar shakes his head as the group makes their way up to the top floor.

As the group enters the top floor, they see an even stranger sight than the floor below. The top floor looks nothing like the previous tower floors, instead the place looks like grasslands, with trees and a pond nearby where the group enters. The sky appears mostly cloudy with some rain, but nothing too heavy. As the group continues to look around, Cynder notices the stairway they used to get up here has dissapeared. "Um, guys...I think we won't be able to go back the way we came," she says to the group. A crying Pokemon can be seen in the distance. Charonus decides to get closer. "H-hey, what are you doing?" asks Draco. "I want to try to calm her, if I can," says Charonus back. As Charonus gets closer, the female Marowak turns her head to face him. "C-can...can it be?" The female Marowak is heard saying as she stands up, still keeping her eyes locked on Charonus, paying no mind to the group behind him. "Can it really be? You managed to get away from them my son?" Charonus looks at the Marowak confusedly, "Huh? Wait, I'm not your son." The Marowak gets to Charonus and hugs him tight, "Nonsense, I know my son from anywhere. I was so worried when those humans took you away. I thought I would never see you again." Charonus tries to push away, "Really...I'm not your child. I'm not even a Cubone, I'm a Charmander." The Marowak holds tighter, "They must of hit your head or something, you are no Charmander. At least I have you back. Now we can live together here forever." Charonus turns back to the group, "Can any of you please help me here, this Marowak is crazy." The Marowak looks over to where Charonus is looking, "You, are you back to take my baby away from me again!?" As the Marowak gets angry, the grassland scene starts changing, the trees decaying, the grass dying, the pond drying up and the sky turning dark and stormy. "You shall not take my baby from me again!" As the Marowak says this, a ring of small blue flames surrounds Bowser, Draco, and Cynder. The Marowak takes out a bone club that bursts into flames at both ends and her skin color changes to a darker hue. A strange mark appears on the Marowak's skull.

The Marowak places Charonus on a nearby rock and seals him in a barrier of fire, in her mind protecting him from the Team Rocket grunts she sees before her. She keeps looking at the group, the fires of hatred burning in her eyes. "Wait, you have the wrong idea, the Charmander is telling you the truth," Cynder yells out, trying to reach the Marowak and snap her out of her rage, but it has no effect as the Marowak rears back for an attack. "You shall not take him away from me ever AGAIN!" She launches the bone club at the group, using the move Bonemerang. The Bonemerang heads straight for Draco, who narrowly avoids the attack in time by flying straight up into the sky. The Bonemerang passes by the group, but returns, headed for Bowser. "Watch out Bowser!," yells Draco. Quickly thinking of a defensive measure, Bowser retracts into his shell. The Bonemerang smashes into his shell with such force that it breaks off one of Bowser's shell spikes. Bowser winces from within his shell some. "We need to get rid of these flames. Bowser, use your Whirling Fortress," Cynder manages to call out before another Bonemerang passes by her face, narrowly missing her. Bowser starts to spin, and manages to blow the flames away before getting slammed again by the returning Bonemerang. He then heads for a nearby boulder for cover.

Charonus looks on at his friends battling the Marowak, feeling powerless to stop this from happening. Suddenly a voice that is not his own, but familiar, comes from his mouth. "Mother, stop! They are not your enemies." The Marowak looks back at Charonus, "They have come to take you again, I won't let them!" The voice continues to speak through Charonus, "No, you are letting your rage consume you, seeing things that are not truly there. Please stop and try to see with your eyes unclouded by the hate you feel for those humans." The voices words seem to get through to the Marowak, and as she calms down, the vision of the three humans fades away, revealing Draco, Bowser and Cynder to her. "W-what...is happening? The Marowak says as she falls to her knees on the ground, her hands over her face. Charonus feels something strange welling up inside of him. Suddenly aura breaks off of Charonus' body and coallesces into the form of a Cubone. The Cubone walks over to the Marowak, "Please mother...what you were doing was not like you. You were always one to tell me that you must be in balance, for it is through that where one can grow strong to be able to help the world become a better place." As the Cubone says this, the Marowak slowly raises her head to look at him, "Yes...you are right. I lost sight of this when you were taken from me, but I'm glad you are safe now." The Cubone looks down, "No mom...I didn't make it. I am a ghost like you are. I'm only here due to the strong aura of my soul, and the child of the ones I was fed to to sustain them."

The Marowak looks at Charonus, "Is this true?" Charonus lowers his head, "Yes...but my parents didn't want to until the Cubone told them it was ok. I came here to repent, not only for the ones killed by others in the travesties I witnessed while with your son, but to also repent for those that lost their lives in a similiar rage that happened after my own parents were killed right in front of me." The Marowak looks back at her son, hugging him tight. She then stands up, coming over to Charonus and releasing him from the barrier. She then hugs him tightly, crying a little bit. Her color returns to normal slowly as her aura turns calm, almost happy. The grasslands returning to their former state as sun shines from above. Charonus hugs back, "I will always carry your son's words with me, words passed down from you to him. I will become strong to protect others from what befell you and your own son." The Marowak looks into my eyes, peering into my soul to see my resolve, "I believe in your words. I can see the strength of your soul reflected in your eyes. Please do all you can to restore peace to the world." The Marowak stands and her son comes over to Charonus. "I wish you well in your journey, and I believe that you have repented for what has happened by helping us reunite. If it wasn't for your strong aura I would not have been able to hitch a ride with you." As the conversation comes to a close, the grasslands start to dissapear, as well as the Marowak and Cubone, "Always keep the fires of Balance alive, never give in to rage or dispair, and make the world a better place. I know you can do it Charonus." says the Cubone as he dissapears completely with the Marowak. The scenery around them returning to that of the previous tower floors.

Charonus heads back to the group, some tears in his eyes. Cynder and Draco wait for Charonus, giving him a big hug as he gets to them while Bowser picks up his broken shell spike from the floor, "Owww...that was my favorite shell spike too." Draco and Cynder laugh a little bit, "I think our work here is done now, don't you Charonus?" Cynder looks down at the Charmander. "Yeah, it feels as though a weight has been lifted off of me, but more challenges await. Let us go out of the tower now." The group nods and makes their way down the tower, eventually meeting the Gengar once again, "I see you have managed to calm the vengeful spirit of that Marowak. I didn't think you had it in you." Charonus speaks up, "Apparently I did, the spirit of the Cubone child was with me and managed to get through to his mother." The Gengar nods, "I see, thanks to this, we can finally return to our restful peace, thank you." The Gengar dissapears. The group makes their way from the tower and back out to Lavender Town, sun shining down upon them. "Looks like helping them has helped many more in the process," remarks Draco. "Yes, I believe you are right Draco. The air doesn't feel heavy anymore." says Cynder. "Next it is off to Seafoam Islands and training with Articuno, but how do we get there?" Charonus asks. Draco takes the map out of his bag and the group looks it over, "Looks like we need to go down through routes 12, 13, 14, and 15 to reach Fuchsia City, then go across Water Routes 19 and 20 to reach Seafoam." Cynder says. "That is going to be quite the trek, it may take a couple days to get there," Draco remarks. "Heh, consider it great endurance training Draco. A strong body is part of a strong balanced self," The group laughs a little bit as they prepare to set off on the first leg of their journey out of Lavender Town and towards Charonus' home of Seafoam Islands.


	12. Chapter 12

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 12: Giovanni's Anger and Rocket's Second Chance**

As the group starts their journey along Kanto's Route 12, elsewhere in Kanto, a familiar trio crashlands near the Viridian City entrance of Viridian Forest. "Da boss isn't gonna like that we failed again." says Meowth. "But what more could we have done, that Charmander had a strangeness about him." James says back. "We better report to the boss anyway. Maybe he will go easy on us." Meowth looks at Jessie and James, "I don't know about yous two, but has the boss ever gone easy on us?" James responds, "Now that you mention it, he has been quite angry with us for not getting that Pikachu." Jessie gets somewhat impatient, "Lets just report in. Luckily we are near the Boss' Gym." The trio heads for the Viridian City Gym, run by the leader of Team Rocket. As the trio enters the building they hear their boss talking to someone over the phone through the open office door in the back, "You mean to tell me there have been absolutely no leads on my second missing experiment. First I lose my first experiment when it broke it's bonds within my own Gym, and now over a couple months ago, not only the lab, but my second experiment were lost when Cinnabar erupted. Find me some leads or get me someone who can!." The boss hangs up the phone and sighs some, "Why is it so hard to get good help?" The big, white cat with a red gem in it's forehead that is laying next to him lets out a low purr. The boss looks down and pets it's head, "You are the only one I can truly count on when I'm stressed." The cat Pokemon lets out a meow as Jessie, James, and Meowth near the door.

"What is it my Persian, is someone at my door?" The boss turns in his chair to see who the cat Pokemon is meowing at, spotting the trio, "I see you three have returned. Tell me, did you find any trace of the Pokemon near Cerulean cave?" Jessie, James and Meowth look at eachother before looking back to their boss. "Well, we did come across some interesting Pokemon, but were unable to secure them Giovanni sir," James says hesitantly. Giovanni stares at the trio, "Tell me exactly what happened, spare no detail. I want to know if they have any connection to my first experiment that escaped years back. We have still not managed to get into that cave due to a barrier, but those Pokemon were able to enter and leave unimpeded. I want to know why." Jessie speaks up, "We set a trap to catch them, only managing to catch two of them." Jessie pulls out a small device that has a picture on it that shows Charonus and Bowser within the cage trap. Giovanni leans forward and looks at the picture, "Interesting, that is a Blastoise variant I have never seen before, as for the Charmander, he looks ordinary. Why would one like that be allowed into that cave?" Meowth speaks up, "That was no ordinary Charmander sir, he had this strange aura about him." Giovanni glares at the Meowth, which makes the Meowth take a step back. As this happens, Jessie shuffles through pictures on the device until she finds one showing the Charmander's strange aura. "Here sir, this is what Meowth is talking about." Jessie shows Giovanni the picture. He stares at it closely, then asks Meowth if the Charmander stated anything to them.

"U-umm...h-he did sir, he said that we are his enemy, Team Rocket as a whole is an enemy to him." Giovanni glares at the trio, "This Charmander has piqued my interest. Not only may he be linked to my first lost experiment, but that aura of his, it reminds me of pictures of the fires I saw of Cinnabar's destruction. You three shall go find the Charmander, or I shall have you reprimanded and ordered to serve Butch and Cassidy over in Johto. Do not fail me!" The trio bows hastily after hearing his order and leaves to confer with scouts as to the whereabouts of Charonus' party. As the trio leaves, Giovanni starts to reminisce about 'that' day.

Two men in lab coats wait at the entrance of the gym's arena, beside them is a strange looking Pokemon that has a strange cybernetic armor suit on it. Giovanni is at the other end of the arena room, "Well Doctor Fuji, show me what this experiment I have funded can do." Dr. Fuji sighs a bit, apprehensive about doing this to Mewtwo, but having no choice in the matter. "Y-yes, Giovanni sir." He looks over to his assistant and nods. Dr. Fuji's assistant throws out a Pokeball containing an Arcanine inside, it stands at the ready waiting for it's opponent. "Go Mewtwo, show Giovanni your power," Dr. Fuji says as he presses a button on a control pad he holds in his hand. Mewtwo leaps to the opposite side of the arena and stares at the Arcanine through it's cybernetic visor. The assistant issues a command to the Arcanine, "Arcanine, use Fire Blast." The Arcanine uses the move and sends it at Mewtwo. Mewtwo reacts by simply raising it's own arm and stopping the Fire Blast completely. Mewtwo then sends the attack back at the Arcanine, slamming it hard with double the force of the original attack. Mewtwo then glares at the Arcanine and lifts it into the air with Psychic. Mewtwo then proceeds to fling the Arcanine against the back wall of the Gym's arena, right next to Giovanni. Giovanni smiles as the assistant releases another Pokemon, this time a Nidoking. "Nidoking, use Horn Drill," The assistant yells out. Nidoking does as instructed and rushes at Mewtwo, hoping to knock it out in one swift move. but before Nidoking can land a decisive blow, it gets hit by a Psystrike attack that sends it flying back where it came from, knocking it out instead. Giovanni's smile gets wider, "Fine work Doctor. I will be taking this Pokemon off of your hands now." Giovanni snaps his fingers and a couple grunts come over to Dr. Fuji and his assistant and escort them from the building. One of the grunts also takes the control pad and presents it to Giovanni. "With this Pokemon in my possesion, Team Rocket is one step closer to ruling the world. No one will be able to withstand my power." Giovanni orders another of his grunts to secure Mewtwo in the room that he had specially designed to hold it.

Several months later, a routine Gym battle happens between Giovanni and an upstart Pokemon trainer who has brought an entourage with him to cheer him on. The Pokemon trainer battles fiercely against Giovanni's pokemon, thinking that he has this match won. Giovanni simply smiles as a panel raises below the space that he sits upon, showing the Cyber clad Mewtwo. The trainer looks over this Pokemon, wondering what it is, even trying to find info from his Pokedex. When he finds that no info can be gained, he decides to have his Arcanine use Fireblast on it, only to watch as it's attack gets sent back at it and knocking it against the wall behind the trainer. The trainer then attacks with his Nidoking only to have the scenario repeated. As the trainer tries to come to grips with what just happened, Mewtwo lifts both of his Pokemon up into the air with Psychic, holding them there for his trainer to see. Mewtwo then flings the pair out of the arena space. The trainer, distraught with grief, goes and returns the two to their Pokeballs and leaves the Gym. Giovanni smiles at Mewtwo's latest victory and orders it to return to it's room. Mewtwo turns and glares at Giovanni, but is still restrained from harming him due to the cybernetics. In Mewtwo's mind, it plots it's escape, thinking between dark thoughts and just escaping from this nightmare he was placed in.

A couple days pass and Giovanni goes to check up on Mewtwo, wishing to show the power he has to the world and reveal the intent of Team Rocket. As Giovanni watches his scientists performing tests on Mewtwo, suddenly sirens ring out as Mewtwo's aura flares up. "What is happening?" Giovanni yells out. "Mewtwo's enegy, it's rising too fast, breaking the controller suit!" a scientist yells back. "Get that Pokemon restrained this instant," another scientist says. Mewtwo glares at Giovanni and speaks into his mind, "My servitude to you is at it's end human. You know nothing but powerlust, and that will be your downfall. I shall spare your life, but know this. Once I leave, do not try to find me." With this, Mwetwo takes off, still wearing the control armor, and plows out of Giovanni's gym, startling several people nearby in Viridian City. The people watch as Mewtwo leaves, the control armor finally breaking off of it's body. Inside the Gym, Giovanni yells at several grunts to find and capture that Pokemon. "Find and bring that Pokemon back to me, by whatever means."

Giovanni snaps back to the present when he hears the nearby phone ring. He picks it up, "Yes, what is it?" There is a grunt's voice on the other end of the line, "Sir, we have detected an energy reading coming from Cinnabar. It matches that of the second experiment." Giovanni grins, "Gather a contingent of troops. I want that Pokemon captured." "Yes Giovanni sir. Right away." The grunt hangs up and Giovanni hangs up the phone. "Hear that my Persian?, Things are beginning to look up."

At Cinnabar, Shadow Mewtwo floats ominously above the ruined landscape. "All the pieces are in motion. The foolish human that thinks he can control me, and the little Charmander and companions that think that balance is the way. They will all see in time that their efforts are foolish." Shadow Mewtwo smiles as he waits.

Meanwhile at Route 12, Charonus and his group continue their journey, completely unaware that Jessie, James and Meowth are once again up to no good and on their way to once again impede their progress of meeting the legends of Kanto.


	13. Chapter 13

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 13: The Rocket's Trap on Route 13**

Hovering over the skies near Fuchsia City a strange Meowth looking Hot air balloon flies by. "I have been having second thoughts about this Jess. That Charmander looked quite scary when we last saw him," says James. "Yeah, I know what you mean. The look in his eyes, it wasn't normal," Replies Jessie. "Will yous two snap out of it. The boss ordered us to capture that group and that is what we are going to do, and besides our new trap can handle anything the Charmander and his group throw at us," Meowth annoyingly says to Jessie and James. "Now then, the groups last known location was going down the seaside Route 12, that's why we will ambush them along Route 13. It's going to be an unlucky day for them." Team Rocket continues to float on by, eventually setting down in a hidden location of Route 13 to set up and wait for Charonus' group to arrive.

Travelling down Route 12, Charonus' group is taking in the sights. "I can't believe how much things change through the different routes. This place always seems to show us something new," remarks Draco. "Yeah, from caves, to cities, to quiet places near water. This region of the world seems to have it all," says Cinder. Bowser on the other hand is lost in thought, wondering what the next training for young Charonus holds, but more immediate is how to reattach his broken shell spike. "Bowser? What's wrong?" Charonus questions Bowser while sitting on his shoulder. "Oh...it's my favorite shell spike, the one that got broken during the fight with that ghost Marowak," Bowser responds solemnly. Cynder, hearing the conversation, smiles as she rifles through her bag, eventually finding something that looks like a spray bottle. "Hand me your spike Bowser. I may have something that could help. Amber told me about these potions before we left Cerulean cave. She says that they can heal many injuries." Bowser hands the shell spike over to her. Cynder goes over to Bowser's shell, holds the spike up to the point it broke from, and sprays the bottles contents onto it. The shell spike reattaches, the break off point completely healing. Bowser smiles and thanks Cynder.

The group continues down Route 12, continuing their sightseeing, watching as Magikarp leap from the waters, as well as Goldeen. They eventually stop for a while to rest and eat. "Any ideas on what the training with Articuno will be like?" Draco asks Charonus. "Probably more of the same like I have already done. I just worry about what lies ahead, about Shadow Mewtwo, and Team Rocket. We also will have to go past Cinnabar to reach the area I need to get to to recieve my training from Moltres...and that is going to be hard on me." Charonus replies reluctantly. "Past events can be hard on a person...I should know, but you learn to move past them and better not only yourself, but those you interact with. You also get to meet some cool friends along the way." Bowser smiles at Draco and Cynder. "Bowser is right, things will get better. Don't worry Charonus, we are here to help you through." smiles Cynder.

After their rest and lunch, the group continues on their way towards the start of Route 13, seeing the land change to have patches of flowers around. The group marvels at the sight as they get closer to a city in the distance. They continue along, blissfully unaware of the trap lying in wait for them. "I do have to agree with you though Charonus, we may have not seen the last of Team Rocket...or your inner demons." Bowser says. "Don't say that his inner self is a demon Bowser, that may hurt his self esteem." Cynder snaps at Bowser. "No, it's ok Cynder. It's something I am learning to work through during this training. It will always be there, but maybe I can temper it into something better." Charonus says. "That is quite wise for one so young." Cynder remarks at Charonus' words surprisingly.

The group reaches an area of flowers that are of a different color than the surrounding ones. as they step closer to take a look, a metal clang is heard as another cage manages to ensnare all four of them. "Huh? Where did this cage come from?" Charonus looks around surprised. "Nevermind that young one, shield your eyes!" Cynder rushes to cover Charonus' eyes as the group hears voices coming from the bushes nearby.

Prepare for trouble...

...and make it double!

To protect the world from devastation!

To unite all peoples within our nation!

To denounce the evils of truth and love!

To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie!

James!

Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!

Surrender now or prepare to fight!

Meowth, dat's right!

The three Team Rocket members show themselves once again to the group. "You three again, what do you want?" angrily asks Bowser. "Huh, what do you know James, that strange Blastoise can speak. You don't see one of those every day." Bowser looks at the group, "Hey, I'm no Blastoise. I'm King of the Koopas." "Koopa, never heard of that Pokemon before." James responds. "What do you three want with us?" Cynder asks the group, annoyed at their situation. "Tha boss wants you four. That's all I'm tellin' ya. Whatever the boss wants, the boss gets." Charonus' aura starts to flare up somewhat from hearing the Meowth's voice. Bowser and Draco look at the cage walls, sizing them up. "I could break this down no problem...but they may have put an electric charge in them again." says Bowser. "Then maybe fire will get things done." responds Draco. The pair unleash a torrent of fire at the cage bars, but they remain, only slightly damaged from their fire breath attacks. "That is reinforced metal. You will never break free from it." As Meowth says this, a strong looking claw descends from the Meowth hot air balloon that floats overhead, and attaches to a metal loop at the cage top. "We will surely be rewarded for this." says James as he exitedly. Cynder continues to look over the cage and notices the weld points seem a little weak at the floor of the cage. she directs the group to unleash their fire breaths at those points. "Try all you want, but those bars are solid." Meowth taunts the group as their balloon lifts off with what he thinks is the cage with the group in it. As Jessie, James and Meowth celebrate, suddenly a burst of fire strikes the Meowth balloon squarely in the face, punching a hole into it and deflating it quickly. The group hears this and stops suddenly, "Um Jess, did you hear that?" "Yes I did James, it sounds like we're blasting off again!" as Jessie says this, the air blasts them into the sky sending the group away in a flash of light.

The group watches as Team Rocket flies off into the distance. "What is up with those guys, and what could their boss want with us?" Draco asks the group. "I'm not sure, with all of this going on with Shadow Mewtwo and Charonus it's anyones guess." Cynder says back. "At least we didn't have to see Charonus' malice come forth again." Bowser remarks. "It was hard to keep composed...my inner self wanted to come out so bad, but I managed to keep it in check. Let us hurry to our next destination and hope we don't run into those goofballs again." Cynder looks at her map. "Next up looks like the City of Flowers, Fuchsia City. It should be a good place to go before we take on the water routes to reach Seafoam Islands." Charonus smiles some, "Sounds good to me, all this worry is hard on a little Charmander, and besides, it's one more step closer to home. I want to go back to my nest for a bit." "then that is what we will do before meeting with Articuno." smiles Draco.

The group continues on their way, past Route 14 and the long path of Route 15, eventually laying their eyes on the city of flowers, Fuchsia. Cynder sees on the map that Fuchsia is not only touted as the City of Flowers, but that they also have a wonderful park there dedicated to keeping some of the rarest Pokemon breeds from going extinct. "Awww, seeing humans trying to preserve nature is a wonderful sight." remarks Cynder. "It truly is. I wonder what kind of Pokemon are in that park?" Draco says. "Why don't we check it out, after our ordeal it would be a nice change of pace." says Bowser exitedly. "I agree with Bowser, it will calm us down and help to prepare us for the journey towards my home." Charonus reponds with his thoughts. The group nods and prepares to enter the city.

Meanwhile, somewhere near Saffron City's outskirts, the Team Rocket trio crashlands. "What went wrong?" Jessie annoyingly asks James. "I'm not sure, that cage was supposed to be fire resistant." James replies. "Yous two messed up again. That's what happened...The boss isn't going to like this." Just then they get a call. Jessie picks up the phone they have in their hot air balloon. "Drop what you are doing and meet me at Cinnabar, I have a new task for you three. I have a feeling that group of Pokemon will be headed there." Jess hangs up the phone after hearing their boss' orders. "What is it Jess?" inquires James. "That was our boss, he wants us to get over to Cinnabar immediately. He thinks that Charmander's group might head over there for some reason." Jessie replies. The group dusts themselves off and gets ready to head to Cinnabar Island, wondering what the boss wants,and what will transpire there.


	14. Chapter 14

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 14: The City of Flowers and the Route Over Water**

The group admires the beauty of Fuchsia city as they enter, noting the balance between man and nature. "This place is quite nice," says Cynder. "I agree, it gives off quite a calming vibe," remarks Draco. As the group continues into the city, unbeknownst to them, they are being watched from every corner. The group looks at a nearby map of town and notes where the landmarks are. "We should take a look at this Safari Park they have here. It could be quite interesting. It also looks like it has a camping zone as well, might be a good area to stay before our trip over water," says Cynder. "Sounds like a good plan Cynder," says Bowser. "I still wonder what Pokemon are in there," Charonus says exitedly. The group heads towards the Safari Park, being trailed by a strange tree that they don't notice.

As the group enters the park, they see a vast open plain with several strange Pokemon wandering around. They walk up to a big signboard, "Welcome to Pokemon Safari Park, where Pokemon and Human alike try to keep the balance with nature," Cynder reads the signboard aloud. The signboard also mentions that there are different zones, each tailored for Pokemon to dwell within, it also makes notes that there are plenty of camping sites for travellers to make use of. "Maybe we should have a look around this place and see what kind of Pokemon there are." says Charonus exitedly. "I guess after our latest encounter, it would be nice to relax," Bowser says. The group nods and decides to take a look around. Draco feels a strange wind brush by him just then and takes a look around. "Hmmm...that was strange," Bowser looks back to his Charizard friend. "Is something wrong Draco?" Draco snaps back to reality for a moment. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing Bowser, just a strange feeling I had, nothing more." Bowser looks at Draco, "I sure hope that was all."

The group makes their way into the first zone, "Welcome to the Plains zone. This zone holds endangered Pokemon that roam vast plains within the Pokeworld." A couple strange two and three headed bird pokemon pass by in front of the group as they read the sign. The group looks up to see the Pokemon go by, also noticing a Pokemon that holds a smaller child within a pouch. "Say Draco, doesn't that kind of look like a beefed up Kangaroo?" Bowser inquires. "Hmmm, now that you mention it Bowser, it kinda does," Draco responds back. As they continue to walk the trails of the Plains zone, they continue to see more amazing Pokemon. A Rhinoceros Pokemon looks over as the group walks by, letting out a happy roar and goes back to grazing. The group eventually reaches the end of the Plains zone and enters Zone 2, the Forest Zone.

The group heads down the trails of the Forest zone, taking notes of the different Bug types and Poison types that enhabit the area. Several green colored bugs with what appear to be scythes for forearms fly overhead as brown bugs with giant pincers on their heads hang in the trees. Near the base of the many forest trees many bug Pokemon with mushrooms attached to their backs are found as well as small, rodent like Pokemon of differing shades of purple, the darker ones having horns jutting out of their foreheads. The group continues to marvel at the sights, eventually getting near Zone 3, the Marsh Zone.

The group notices many more different Pokemon here, from giant moth like Pokemon to even water dwelling Pokemon within the deeper pools there. "This place is just so full of many different species of Pokemon," says Cynder. "You are not kidding. I'm just glad to see that the humans have done so well to help these Pokemon out by giving them a home here." Draco says back. As the group continues their tour, the sun begins to set. "We should think of setting up camp guys," says Bowser. "You're right Bowser. We are almost to the next zone, we should set up there," says Cynder. The group heads for Zone 4, Mountain Zone.

As the group enters the Mountain Zone, they take a look for a nearby campsite to set up at. "Over here guys, this spot looks perfect," Bowser points over to an overlook looking out over the whole park. Charonus runs over to the spot eagerly, "This place will be perfect for our camp, good call Bowser." Bowser blushes slightly at Charonus' kind words. The group reaches into their bag and retrieves their camping supplies, in no time setting up their camp. Cynder sets up a ring of rocks and Bowser pulls some wood from his pack. "I'm still amazed with how good Amber has prepared us, the capacity of these bags really seems unreal." Cynder responds, "I know what you mean Bowser, it does seem quite strange to me as well." Draco wanders off from the group to see if he can see some of the Pokemon that are in this area. As Draco wanders around, he spots a strange snake like Pokemon in a nearby lake that has a large jewel affixed to its chest and another pair of jewels on its tail.

As the group finishes setting up the camp, Cynder looks around, "Hey Bowser, have you seen Draco around?" Bowser looks up at Cynder, "No, I've been busy getting my tent set up." Cynder and Bowser look around, eventually spotting a tailflame headed back towards them. "Ah, there you are. I wish that you wouldn't wander off on your own you sillyzard," Cynder says. No response is heard. "Hey, are you ok buddy?" inquires Bowser. The figure draws nearer and enters the campfires light and roars a little. "Huh, is something wrong Draco. What is with that derpy look on your face?" asks Charonus. Cynder takes a closer look and notices that Draco's face does seem to be off. His bright eyes and smiling face seem to be replaced by black dots and a strange line like mouth. As the group wonders what is going on, the Draco like figure begins to twist and contort to take on the form of Bowser, only it has the same derpy face. "What is this thing?" Bowser takes a step back as he looks at this lookalike in front of him.

As the group confronts this strange being, Draco is still at his lookout spot, deciding to take pictures of the nearby Pokemon to show his friends, "I better be heading back before the others worry about where I am." As Draco gets nearer to the campsite, he sees what looks like to him, two Cynders. "Huh, what is going on here, either my eyes are playing tricks on me, or I am seeing double." Draco rushes to the campsite and stands between the two Cynders. "Can someone explain to me what is going on here?" Bowser looks over, "Your guess is as good as mine. At first we thought this thing was you, the only reason we knew something was off was because of the imposters derpy face, then he changed into me for a bit, then Cynder." Draco takes a look to see what Bowser is talking about and sees that one of the Cynders has this strange expression on her face. "Hmmm, maybe this could be another Pokemon from the area. I wonder if it could be training its abilities." The figure changes again into a strange pink lump and looks up at the group and utters a simple "Ditto" before retreating into the night.

The group continues to talk about this strange experience that they had before eventually settling in for the night. As morning dawns, the group gets ready to leave, packing up their camp and making sure no embers remain of their campfire from the night prior. "That was quite nice, maybe except for that strange Pokemon. I still can't believe that there are even Pokemon that can take the shape of another," says Cynder. "I bet an ability like that comes in handy though, maybe to be able to hide from predators," Bowser says back. "I wonder if we will encounter that kind of Pokemon again some other time," says Charonus. The group continues to converse as they make their way out of the park and heads for the water routes of Kanto to make their way to Seafoam Islands.

The group passes back through Fuchsia City, taking one last stroll before putting the 'City of Flowers' behind them. As the group enters Route 19, they converse on how to best get over the water to Seafoam. "How are we going to make it to my home? Bowser can't fly like you two can," wonders Charonus. "Hey, don't worry about me little guy. I happen to be quite the swimmer, just like a Blastoise from your world," boasts Bowser. "Yeah, that is if you don't get distracted and sink like a stone because of your heavy shell..." quips Draco. "Hey, I don't get distracted that often," says Bowser. A nearby duck like Pokemon waddles up to the group as they are talking, "I would be careful if you plan to head over the water routes. A storm that has happened not to long ago has agitated the local Tentacool and Tentacruel...quite the headache I tell ya." as the duck Pokemon says this, he holds his head as if it hurts, giving out a little "Psy" as he does. "Thanks for the warning, I think I can handle it with my stout shell," says Bowser. "I hope so too for your sake. Tentacools are nasty, but it's the Tentacruels you should be watching for," he looks to Draco and Charonus, "And fire will be of no help, but maybe your strange dragon type friend could be of help if you get into trouble." Cynder responds to the warnings. "Thank you for your warning, we will make sure to keep a good watch on out friend from above."

After conversing a little more, and Bowser assuring them that Charonus will be alright riding with him, Draco and Cynder take to the sky to fly overhead. "Ready to go buddy? My stout shell and great stamina will have us there in no time," asks Bowser. "I'm as ready as you are. I just hope those Tentacool and Tentacruel don't give us trouble." responds Charonus. Bowser smiles, "If they do, try to give them a little shock, but don't go overboard." Charonus nods back as Bowser prepares himself to enter the water. Bowser jets off as he hits the water, going pretty fast through the rest of Route 19 and entering Route 20. "It should be like two hours to a two and a half hours to reach my home." Charonus says. "No problem, I'll get us there." Bowser says back. Draco and Cynder fly overhead, keeping careful watch on Bowser and Charonus. "I hope no problems occur for those two," Cynder says worredly. "I hope so too Cynder, we may have to help them if they get into trouble," Draco says back to her.

Over the next hour, the group makes really good headway towards Seafoam, but just over the distance, they catch a sight of something stirring up the water. "Careful Bowser, I don't like the sight of that area of water. Can you see if you can avoid it?" Charonus looks worredly at the water. "Yeah, I'll try to avoid it. I don't really like the sight of that either," Bowser says back as he begins to maneuver out of the way of the agitated waters, but this proved to be a folly as Bowser feels something grab hold of his leg from beneath the water's surface. "Gah, somethings got my leg!" Bowser tries to pull away, but he is held in place, as he tries more and more to get away, tendrils come from the water and wrap around his other limbs. Up above, Draco and Cynder see this occur, "We gotta help Bowser and Charonus, they look like they may be dragged under!" Draco exclaims as he rushes to their aid with Cynder following behind.

Charonus tries to keep his cool and concentrate on performing Charge, but it proves to be a tough task while Bowser tries to fend off the attack from the underwater Tentacools. "I must concentrate and prepare myself...I will save my friend." Charonus continues to concentrate his hardest, eventually managing to perform Charge, he then turns his attention to the Tentacool tentacles that have attached to Bowser. "Don't worry Bowser, I'll help you," As Charonus says this, he prepares a Zap Cannon and takes aim with it at the tentacles on Bowser's left arm and lets the attack loose. The attack manages to strike it's target true and paralyze the Tentacool and freeing Bowser's left arm. "Great work Charonus. Try to get the other ones off of me if you can." Charonus nods at Bowser's request and gets ready to let loose another Zap Cannon. At that moment Draco and Cynder show up and prepare their own attacks to help out. "Don't worry Bowser, we'll help you get free in no time," Draco says as he takes aim and dives down to use Slash on the exposed tentacles of the Tentacool that holds Bowser's right leg. At the same time Cynder does the same on the one holding Bowser's left leg. With one more Zap Cannon from Charonus, Bowser gets freed and speeds away from the Tentacool.

"That was a close one Bowser...keep your eyes peeled for any other disturbances," says Charonus, hoping they don't run into any more of those, as well as not running into any Tentacruels. "For being so small, those things sure have some holding power. I couldn't even get away from them." says Bowser. Unbeknownst to them, a large set of eyes watches them from below the water, keeping a close track on the pair floating on the water, but letting them pass. The group continues on their way, eventually seeing the Seafoam Islands in the distance. "Hey, we're almost back at my home!" Exitedly exclaims Charonus as je jumps up and down. "Hey, settle down Charonus, you don't want to fall off do ya?" Bowser says worredly. "Yeah, you're right, but I'm just so exited to be back home after so long, and all I have been through," Charonus says back. Above the two, Draco and Cynder spot the islands, "I'm glad that nothing else has happened on our way here," Draco sighs in relief. "That may be Draco, but something still could happen. Be sure to keep your eyes open for signs of trouble." Just as Cynder says this, the water in front of them starts to swell and rise up. "Bowser, watch out, something big is coming up!" Cynder yells down to Bowser as her and Draco rush to his side. Charonus prepares himself to fight whatever this new threat is.

The group continues to watch as the waters begin to part, showing a large, blue jellyfish like creature with large, ruby like spots atop it's head and many tentacles coming from the waters surface. The Pokemon looks at the group, watching them carefully, it then begins to speak in a gruff voice. "I commend you four for getting this far and passing the test set forth by this island's master. Zapdos, the electric one of Bravery has taught you well, you also showed great knowledge in fending off the Tentacool that tried to drag your turtle friend under. Your group may pass now to Seafoam and meet with the Ice of Knowledge." As the Tentacruel says this, he bows and moves out of the way of the group, letting them pass and enter the area of Seafoam.

The group reaches the shore of Seafoam Island, resting a moment before trying to find their way inside. Charonus takes a look around and eventually spots an entrance that looks familiar to himself. "Hey, I think this is where my nest is." Draco, Cynder, and Bowser follow him, entering the caves. "Are you sure Charonus?" asks Draco. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure about this, I recognise some of the area around here." Charonus continues to lead the group into the caves, eventually seeing the destruction that Team Rocket have wrought while capturing Pokemon. "How horrible...I can't believe humans would do things like this." Cynder sighs as she sees the damage of the caves. Charonus runs off to a side cave and eventually finds what he has been seeking. In the back of the side cave, he sees a small nest that has the fragments of eggshell from his egg still inside. "I found it guys, my nest." Charonus exitedly leaps into his old nest and looks out at the group from it. "Heh, that looks quite cute little guy." Bowser laughs a bit. "Maybe we should stay here for a while before meeting with Articuno." says Cynder. Charonus curls up in his nest and yawns, "Yes, that sounds good." Charonus eventually falls to sleep and the group takes turns looking around the cave and watching over Charonus.

As Charonus dreams, he remembers that horrible day that took his home, as well as his parents away from him. He cries a little as he sleeps and thinks about how he will never let this happen again. Cynder, watching over Charonus at the time, wipes the tears from his eyes, eventually spotting something sitting near Charonus. She picks it up and examines it. It turns out to be a strange necklace, the pendant on it having two recesses in it where it looks like round gems could fit. The pendant has the designs of a pair of wings, only that the left one has the look of a black wing with a blue wing membrane, and the right looks like a normal Charizard's wing, only a little more styled. Cynder continues to examine the necklace, eventually setting it back down over Charonus' head. "I guess this is one last gift from your parents to you Charonus...sleep well young Charmander."


	15. Chapter 15

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 15: Training at Home With the Bird of Chills**

Charonus wakens the following morning, the dreams he had while he slept still fresh in his memory. He peers out from his nest and looks out over his home and spies Draco and Bowser sleeping together. "Heh, I guess Articuno's test was trying for them too. I also wonder where Cynder could be." Charonus hops out of his nest and makes his way over to his friends, booping Bowser on the nose. "Time to wake guys, I want to get to Articuno before it gets too late, and we need to find Cynder. She has apparently wandered off somewhere." Bowser stirs some, scratching his nose, "She has probably gone off to find a place to contemplate to herself about our next move. She does that sometimes." Draco stirs as well, "Yeah, you get used to it, but I do worry about her when she does, especially in an unknown world like this one." Cynder comes back to the side cavern and looks at the three, "Finally you three have awoken, it's almost noon. We should really get a move on if we want to meet Articuno before nightfall." The three scratch their heads and sigh. "So, how do we even get to Articuno?" asks Draco. "This way, I found a cave entrance that seems to have cold air seeping from it. It might lead to Articuno." Cynder responds as she leads the group towards the entrance.

As the group gets closer to the entrance, led by Cynder, Bowser happens to catch something shining from Charonus out of the corner of his eye. Bowser turns to face Charonus and sees the pendant from around his neck. "Hey little buddy, where did you get that pendant necklace?" Charonus looks down and notices the necklace, "Huh? Where did this come from?" Charonus gazes deeply at it, feeling a sort of connection with it somehow. "I happened to find that in Charonus' nest as he slept. It might have been something that his parents meant to give to him." Cynder says as they arrive at the entryway she found. The group starts their descent into the ice caves of Seafoam, taking note of how different this area is to the volcanic like area that was Charonus' home cave. "Brrr...this area is getting pretty cold," Charonus says as he shivers some. Draco looks at Charonus, "Yeah...I f-feel the same. I'm g-going to look in my p-pack for something warm." As Draco says this, Charonus does the same and they both manage to find some winter gear sized for them. They give it no mind now as this seems to be a common occurance in how prepared Amber has made them for their journey.

The group continues deeper into the ice caves, the light from Draco's and Charonus' tail flames bouncing off the reflective ice and lighting their path pretty well. "This place feels pretty good to me, kinda feels like my home back on Earth." Charonus looks at Cynder, "Where on your Earth do you live?" Cynder smiles and leans down to Charonus, "I lived in a place to the north of my world called Norway, before I met Draco and Bowser here. Maybe if you somehow ever make it to my world I will show you around." Charonus looks into Cynder's eyes and sees the genuineness of her words, but is unsure how to respond, for he is unsure that he will ever leave his world. As the group continues their descent they see more and more of the local Pokemon. Much like the cave at Cerulean, they see various water types, but ones more suited to the cold climate of these caves. The group takes particular notice of a group of Pokemon that seemingly have a symbiotic relationship with eachother. Eventually the group reaches their destination. Sitting on top of a platform, surrounded by ice crystals that form wonderous columns from floor to ceiling, is Articuno. He faces the group and smiles, his shimmering feathers a sight to behold.

"I welcome you Cynder, Draco, Bowser, and especially you Charonus. I am the one who rules over the aspect of Knowledge in the trifecta of Kantonian Legendary Birds." He bows to the group. "I am glad you four managed to pass my test and reach me here." Charonus looks at Articuno, "It was tough, but we managed to pull through." Articuno sighs some, "Things are stirring outside this cave, things that are hard to control...all centered around you young one. I'm sorry that this has happened to you, all four of you." Cynder looks up, "Why apologize, you have done nothing wrong." Articuno lowers his head, "I take full responsibility for what transpires within my domain. I'm afraid I was not wise enough to avert the chain of events that has transpired..." Charonus speaks up, "No, you are not at fault Articuno, you of all Pokemon should know this. There was no way to avert the chaos that humans have sown. These events would of happened with different players even with or without your intervention." Articuno raises his head up, "Wise words from one so young, I am truly imnpressed. Hearing these words from you, I believe you would be right. There is no time for reflecting on a past which can't be changed. We must move on to the future and make sure tragedy does not strike again." The group smiles together as they hear his words.

"If I may ask, what does the training for young Charonus entail?" asks Cynder. Articuno smiles, "Ah yes, for the young Charmanders training. He will be training in two moves. One move being quite effective on water type Pokemon. In this training you must learn how to regulate temperature. to insead imparting heat upon an object, take it away. For in essence that is how ice type moves are used. It will be tough for a fire type to achieve, but I believe you will be able to succeed." Charonus looks to the others, "Taking heat away? How does that even work?" The group looks at eachother, unsure of how to respond. "Do not worry, I shall explain everything. As for now, you should prepare yourself Charonus." Articuno awaits while Charonus begins to prepare.

Charonus once again begins to meditate and bring out his dream form again to help in his training. "I see that doing this is becoming like second nature to you, I warn you though that it will get harder as you age and come closer to your final form." Articuno says to Charonus. Charonus nods in understanding and awaits Articuno's instruction. "The moves that I shall teach you are akin to two moves your line can learn normally. The moves are Freeze-Dry and Ice Beam." Charonus looks at Articuno inquisitively, "How are they akin to moves I could normally learn, and what moves are they akin to?" Articuno smiles, "Exellent questions, but I think that you will learn the answers as you train in the moves I will impart." Articuno takes a couple steps back and inhales, he then exhudes a chilling breath toward a training dummy set up at one end of the ice platform. "This move is called Freeze-Dry. In order to perform it, you must reach down into your core and cool the fires within. Think opposite of heat and channel those thoughts into energy to fuel your attack. It is up to you to figure out what move to use to achieve this."

Charonus thinks of the fire moves he knows for a moment, "This feels really hard, to change fire into ice...What move do I have that can accomplish this?" Charonus keeps thinking on this, eventually getting distracted by his own breath in this cold place. It then dawns on him on what move Articuno was hinting at. Charonus then exhales a Heat Wave attack, trying to cool it with cold thoughts, but to no avail. "Just remember what Articuno has told you. I believe in you Charonus," Cynder gives some words of encouragement as the others nod at her words to Charonus. Charonus gives it another try, looking deep within his core and exhaling again. This time his Heat Wave comes out cooler than normal, but still pretty hot. He continues the rest of the day, trying to achieve Freeze-Dry, slowly getting there, but not quite. "That is enough for today Charonus. You can try more tomorrow." Articuno rests his wing on Charonus' shoulder. Charonus nods and reverts back to his body. "I feel like I am slowly getting there, but it is quite hard to cool my attack..." Articuno nods, "I understand, but you are wise. I believe you will achieve what you seek, given some more time. For now, you should rest. Return to your nest and come see me again in the morning." Charonus smiles and nods, looking at the group. "We'll take him back to his nest for a well deserved rest." Bowser says. "I want to stay here and converse with Articuno if you three don't mind." Cynder says to Bowser and Draco. "Huh, what gives Cynder?" Draco looks at her with a puzzled look. "Just head back with Charonus, things will be fine Draco," Cynder gives Draco a kiss on the cheek before waving bye to the trio.

Once the three are out of sight, Cynder turns to Articuno. "So, you have felt it as well young dragoness. The uneasyness in the air. Something is brewing closeby." Cynder looks down, "I have, the others seem oblivious to what is happening in the air, but I think something may happen in the near future to my group..." Articuno places a wing on her shoulder, "Keep a calm head. I can tell that you are the wise one of the group and I believe you will be able to help see them through. Charonus will need the aid of all three of you to help him out." Cynder nods as they continue to converse all night. Meanwhile, the group of Draco, Bowser, and Charonus sleep comfortably in Charonus' home cave, unaware of what will transpire soon in their future.

Over the next several days Charonus continues his training, eventually learning how to control the temperature of his attacks as well as learning the attack Freeze-Dry. "Very good young Charmander. You have managed to sucessfully learn what most Fire Type Pokemon are never able to learn, but you still have one more technique to learn." Articuno turns to the training dummy and exhales a beam of ice shards that stab into the dummy. "This technique is called Ice Beam, as before it is up to you to find the move that best suits the task of learning this ability." Charonus nods and prepares himself as usual, going into his dream body mode. Charonus quickly figures out the perfect move to transform in his Flamethrower attack and sets to work over the next couple days in making an Ice Beam. While this occurs, Cynder and Articuno talk every day about what is left on their quest, and the ominous feeling that they both feel in the air as Bowser and Draco watch intently at Charonus' training.

Charonus eventually is able to learn Ice Beam and he smiles happily at himself. "Well done Charonus. Now please gather around everyone and let me impart my knowledge. There is still the trial of strength for young Charonus to go through. It will be difficult, but just as Mewtwo and Zapdos have believed in him, I do as well." Articuno lowers his head, "But I fear that dark clouds gather over your journey and more tragedy may happen in the near future." Draco, Bowser, and Charonus look towards Articuno inquisitively, "What do you mean Articuno?" Asks Draco. "I can't say for sure, but Charonus may have need of your friendship in the immediate future. Please stay close to him and help him out on the journey to Mount Silver." Cynder reassures Articuno, "We will be there for him. And I hope he can trust in us to help anytime he needs it." She looks down at Charonus. He responds by looking back at her and nodding with understanding. "I bid you three farewell, and take care." Articuno waves a wing and the four set off to head to Cinnabar Island.

As the group is making their way there, an ominous figure floats over the ruins of Cinnabar. "It is almost time, the pieces of the chessboard arrive soon." Shadow Mewtwo smiles an evil grin as he waits there. At the same time, several black ships emblasoned with the Team Rocket 'R' are making their way towards Cinnabar as well. On the lead ship Giovanni sits and waits. "I will have that experiment, then and only then shall I have the power to rule this world." A Rocket grunt whispers into Giovanni's ear. "Excellent, now lets see if those bumbling fools can do their job as a distraction and help me aquire Shadow Mewtwo and possibly that interesting group of Pokemon." Giovanni gives a little laugh as he plots the future he wants to see happen.


	16. Chapter 16

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 16: Revisit to the Scene of Tragedy**

Charonus looks out over the waters near Seafoam, "I wish I didn't have to leave so soon...Can't we stay just one more night here?" Cynder looks down at Charonus, "I know you want to stay at your home, but we must make good time to reach Mount Silver and your last training session in Kanto with Moltres." Charonus sighs, "I know...I guess I can always come back here later." Draco takes a look at the map, "Looks like to reach Mount Silver, we will have to travel to Cinnabar Island to the west, then head north through Pallet Town, then head west from Viridian City." Charonus stops for a moment, "C-Cinnabar..." Bowser kneels down next to Charonus, "Try not to think about things little guy, we will be there and gone in no time. No need to worry yourself." Bowser gets into the water, "Hop aboard and I'll make sure things will be alright." Charonus thinks for a moment, then with a little apprehension, climbs onto Bowser's shell as Draco and Cynder take wing and fly overhead.

Meanwhile, at Cinnabar Island, a familiar looking team arrives in their trademark hot air balloon. "Would you look at this place, it's like a bomb went off here or something." says Jessie. "Could all of this destruction really have been caused by just one Pokemon?" questions James. Meowth gets a little annoyed, "Will yous two cut the chatter. We're supposed to be setting up the traps for the Pokemon Giovanni wants to capture." After Meowth says this, the group gets to work setting their equipment up. Shadow Mewtwo looks at them from high above, "So, the three gnats are first to arrive. Those pawns are of no consequence to me. The two 'kings' shall be arriving shortly, then the fun can start." As Jessie, James and Meowth continue their work, Giovanni and his Rocket grunts speed ever closer to Cinnabar. "Sir, Cinnabar Island is 30 minutes away." yells a Rocket Grunt. "Exellent, stay on course and notify me immediately once we make landfall." He stands up and heads to his stateroom to plan his next moves. "Those Pokemon shall be mine."

An hour and a half goes by as the group makes great headway towards Cinnabar Island. "I see Cinnabar up ahead!" Cynder yells down at Bowser and Charonus. As they get closer and closer, Charonus gets more and more apprehensive. Bowser tries to cheer him up. "Hey, keep happy thoughts in your mind Charonus, I only need a small rest, then we can leave that place behind." Charonus lets out a sigh, then nods. "I hope you're right Bowser. I don't want to relive those tragic events..." Bowser speeds up and eventually makes landfall on the eastern shore of Cinnabar. Draco and Cynder join the pair on land. "I think about an hour's rest and I'll be ready to go again. Is that is ok with you Charonus?" asks Bowser. Charonus nods solemnly. "Y-yeah...the sooner I get away from here, the better." Charonus keeps back, sticking closely to the group as they rest from the trip.

On the north end of the island, Giovanni and his contingent of grunts arrive. Jessie, James and Meowth spot him and greet him, "I trust the preparations to capture the Pokemon have been made?" asks Giovanni. The group nods quietly. "Excellent, lets hope that you three haven't screwed this up." Giovanni heads in with the group and his grunts further into the island. High above Shadow Mewtwo eyes both groups. "Good, all the players have finally assembled. The one who thinks he can rule all and the one who thinks balance is the way. They both shall see how wrong they are soon enough." He raises his arms and focuses his psychic energies, eventually making a barrier around the entire island. "Soon the fools shall see that MY way is the only way. The way of the shadows will reign over this world, and I have these two to thank, the foolish human, and the young Charmander." With an evil grin, he descends down to the ground and waits in the center of the island.

Charonus and his friends check their map again as they head into the island deeper. "Looks like we need to reach the northern shore to gain access to the way to Pallet town." says Draco. "The sooner we get out of here, the better for me..." Charonus says. "As long as we are here with you, everything will be fine." Bowser tries to reassure Charonus again. "I know...but something feels off...I don't like it." Cynder looks down at Charonus. "You can feel it too huh? Just keep a positive attitude and let us get through this." Charonus and the group continue inland, the ominous feeling growing stronger with every step, until they see a figure in the distance. "Huh, it looks like someone is there." mentions Cynder. Charonus looks over and spies a somewhat small looking Pokemon standing in the center of the island. The Pokemon looks right towards Charonus and begins walking towards the group. "I'm glad to see you are alright young one." the mysterious Pokemon says to Charonus. Charonus rubs his eyes, not believing what he is seeing as he sees the Riolu that took a fatal injury to stop his rampage so long ago. "Huh, is something wrong young Charmander? You look like you have seen a ghost or something." Charonus finally speaks up, "Y-you...how can you be here? I thought you were destroyed with the island. I even saw your burnt body. How is this even possible?!" Charonus continues to question what he sees before him as his friends try to yell out to him to watch out. Not hearing his friends words due to Shadow Mewtwo's influence that he secretly put over him, Charonus continues conversing with the fake Riolu before him. "That was a realistic fake body I made, a substitute. I managed to make it off the island just fine." Charonus still feels unsure about this, "Why come back then?" The Riolu looks at Charonus, "To come see you my friend. I could feel the aura in the air and knew that you would return. Others have come to join us in this reunion as well." The Riolu moves aside and points to some other Pokemon making their way towards them, unbeknownst to Charonus that they are just Team Rocket members making their way over.

"These are some of the Pokemon I managed to save." the Riolu says to him. Charonus takes a look at the Pokemon and notices a familiar face in the crowd, one he knows is gone now. He slowly starts backing away, "No, this isn't right. Something is off here." He turns to run and notices that his friends are not there. He begins to look around frantically as he slowly loses his cool. "Draco, Cynder, Bowser, where are you guys?!" His friends continue to yell out to him, "Charonus, we're right here, can't you see us?!" Cynder turns to Draco and Bowser, "Shadow Mewtwo is influencing his mind, making him hallucinate. That has to be the reason why he can't see or hear us, and worse is Team Rocket has shown up as well." Bowser runs towards Charonus to try and take him away from Shadow Mewtwo, only to be blocked by a barrier and sent flying. "You shall not interfere Koopa. This Charmander is mine to command now. I need him to give in to his hatred of these humans and get rid of them for me." Draco and Cynder fly in and help Bowser up. "You can't do this to him, He is not your pawn!" Cynder growls at Shadow Mewtwo through clenched teeth. "Oh, but I can, naive dragoness. As long as his parents are a part of me, I hold sway over him. Now watch as I recreate the events that led to this islands destruction!" Shadow Mewtwo lets out an evil laugh as he readies to change what Charonus is percieving in his mind.

Charonus turns once again and comes face to face with the Rocket grunts that captured him and his parents so long ago, but this too is a trick in his own mind as he really stares at nothing. "NO, GET AWAY FROM ME!" he screams out as he falls onto his back. He tries to get back to his feet and run but sees that he is surrounded. He curls up, scared for his life as within him, his subconscious self starts to burn and take control. "Yes, let the hate out. Let it take control and destroy those that have done you wrong." Draco tries to yell out. "Don't listen Charonus! It's all a trick. Don't let Shadow Mewtwo control you!" Shadow Mewtwo glares at Draco. "Waste all the air you want in trying to reach your 'friend'. It's of no use as long as I have control over what he perceives."

As Shadow Mewtwo directs Charonus' actions, the real Team Rocket group spots the group of five. "There they are sir, dead ahead!" says one grunt. "Spring the trap now, and don't fail to capture every last one of them!" yells Giovanni. Jessie, James, and Meowth set to work on springing the trap, and with a loud 'CLANG' a dome like structure surrounds not only Charonus and Shadow Mewtwo, but Draco, Bowser and Cynder as well. "We gotta get out of here...but we need to help Charonus before another Cinnabar disaster takes place!" exclaims Cynder as she tries to think of a way to break Shadow Mewtwo's hold over the little Charmander. Bowser and Draco confront Shadow Mewtwo and try to break his focus. "Insignifigant gnats, whatever you are trying to accomplish, you will fail. See for yourself." Shadow Mewtwo points to Charonus, his aura getting twisted and dark as his inner self fully takes over. Charonus glares directly at Giovanni from within the dome cage. "Never again...NEVER AGAIN!" Giovanni looks directly at Charonus. "Well, a Charmander with that much power." Giovanni grins wide and orders his grunts to recover the Pokemon. As the grunts scramble, Charonus' aura begins to burn hotter and more corrupted. "We gotta stop this, but how?!" yells out Bowser. Cynder takes a close look at the scene and notices that despite Shadow Mewtwo having a hold over Charonus, he is having to focus more and more of his energy to not only keep himself safe from Charonus' flame, but to be able to direct his actions. "Bowser, Draco, Shadow Mewtwo is losing focus on us to keep hold on Charonus. Wait for my signal, then we all strike." Bowser looks concerned, "Better make it quick, I don't like the look of Charonus' aura."

As the group waits for their opportunity, Charonus prepares a corrupted fireblast. "You shall never harm me again Team Rocket. NEVER AGAIN!" Charonus continues charging up his attack. "Meowth, what is that Charmander saying?" Giovanni directly asks the cat Pokemon. "Ummm...sir, he says that Team Rocket will never harm him again, but I would worry more about that attack he is charging." Giovanni just lets out a short, evil laugh. "Let that Pokemon try to break that cage. His attempts will fail. That cage was made to withstand the strongest of all Pokemon!" Giovanni's words quickly turn on him as Charonus lets his Corrupted Fireblast loose, slamming hard into the side of the domed cage and blasting half of it into nothingness as the other half flies backwards out and hits the barrier around the island. "Foolish human, you take Pokemon for granted, thinking them as mere tools. Well soon enough, with this ones help, it shall be Pokemon that rule over you, with me as their king!" Shadow Mewtwo gloats a bit as Charonus prepares to attack again. "I will destroy all of Team Rocket!"

Cynder keeps a close eye on Shadow Mewtwo, still waiting for the right time to strike. "Cynder, we must stop this now!" Bowser yells out. "Not yet, we must wait for the perfect opportunity." Charonus charges up a Corrupted Firespin, hoping to burn Giovanni and his grunts to nothing but ash. "Good, destroy the ones who used your parents as tools. Make them pay and pave the way for my rule!" At that moment, something snaps within Charonus. He keeps charging his attack, but changes it's focus to encompass Shadow Mewtwo without his knowledge. "Never again will I be used!" Charonus says as he sets his Corrupted Firespin attack ablaze. "NOW DRACO AND BOWSER!" On Cynder's word, Draco and Bowser unleash their most powerful Flamethrower attacks while Cynder unleashes her most powerful Plasma Burst directed at Shadow Mewtwo. His concentration solely focused on controlling Charonus, didn't even see the attacks coming and gets hit by all four at once, making him lose control over Charonus' mind. Meanwhile Team Rocket scrambles to get out of the way of Charonus' attack and protect Giovanni, but it winds up too little too late as several Rocket grunts get completely obliterated by the Corrupted Firespin. Giovanni, seeing his life flash before his eyes, has his legs severly torched as Jessie, James, and Meowth, quickly come to his aid and get their boss out of the area in their Meowth Balloon. "We must get him help." Jessie says to James. "Then lets blast off to the nearest hospital, and quick." Meowth scratches James across the face for the pun as they dissapear out of sight.

Charonus crumples to the ground, having been released by Shadow Mewtwo's influence. The group rushes over to him. "Charonus, are you alright?" Draco picks the Charmander up in his arms. Charonus doesn't respond. Bowser stares over at Shadow Mewtwo, who is kneeling on the ground. "You...You're no better than they are. How dare you try to use our friend for your own personal gain." He cracks his knuckles and prepares to knock some sense into Shadow Mewtwo, but as he goes for the strike, Shadow Mewtwo teleports away. "In time my dream shall become a reality Koopa. This is only a momentary setback, but you are more than welcome to try and stop me. Meet me at the top of Mount Silver and we shall settle things there." Shadow Mewtwo's voice fades away. The group continues to watch over Charonus as he begins to come to. "Charonus, buddy. Are you alright?" Draco says solemnly. "No...I'm not...I was easily manipulated by him...I couldn't stop it..." Charonus starts to cry. Cynder looks at Charonus, "We are here for you, can you trust in us?" Charonus nods slowly, "Please try to stop me if that ever happens again. I don't want to be used like that." The group nods, then prepares to make their way off of the island.

"Maybe Moltres can help somehow with his training of Charonus." says Bowser. "I hope you're right..." says Charonus back as he climbs upon Bowser's shell, ready to leave. Meanwhile at a hospital in Viridian City, Giovanni comes to within his hospital room, to the relief of Jessie, James and Meowth. "Sir, you're awake." Giovanni looks over at the trio. "Did you three save me?" "Yes, we did...but sir, how do I put this..." James says as he tries to think of a way to tell Giovanni as lightly as possible. Giovanni gets slightly annoyed, "Well, out with it!" James steps back a bit, "Well sir, your legs are burnt so extremely that the doctor said you would be wheelchair bound from now on." Giovanni stares at James for a moment, before laughing hysterically. "The power of that Charmander is astonishing. I will have him for my plans instead of that failed experiment. Bring him to me by any means, wether it be the Pokemon itself or his Pokecore. It matters not to me." The group salutes Giovanni before leaving his hospital room as he continues laughing to himself.

At Mount Silver, a solem figure sits among it's snow covered peaks as Shadow Mewtwo appears. Shadow Mewtwo looks down at this figure, "Ah, I didn't think anyone else would be here. Well, how about a little warm up before my real match with that Charmander commenses." With that, the figure stands, and a familiar crack of electricity can be heard throughout the mountaintop.


	17. Chapter 17

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 17: The Rocket's Strike in Peaceful Lands**

As Charonus' group leaves Cinnabar Island, Jessie, James and Meowth float over Viridian City. "The boss seems to be really obsessed with that Charmander...I'm worried." says James. "Whatever da boss wants, da boss gets. better not question it." Meowth says back as he begins to think about the respect that Giovanni would show him if he did capture and bring Charonus to him. "Meowth, snap out of it, we need to plan how to capture that group next." says Jessie, snapping Meowth out of his fantasies. The trio plans to trap the group along Route 1, just north of Pallet Town.

Charonus, relieved to be away from Cinnabar again finally, curls up upon Bowser's back and slowly falls asleep. He once again reached his subconscious dreamscape, seeing his dream self curled up tight. Charonus sighs as he heads over to the Charizard before him. "That darn Shadow Mewtwo...he used us..." The Charizard says. "I know...he blocked my conscious mind and tried to direct you, didn't he?" The Charizard nods, "But he said one thing that broke his hold over me, and that proved to be his downfall in his plans." Charonus looks down, "I couldn't hear anything, he had my senses blocked. What was the thing that snapped us free?" The Charizard faces Charonus, "He brought our parents into it, telling me to destroy those that used them, but he is using them as we speak. That was his mistake." Charonus nods, "So, what happens next?" The Charizard sighs, "Shadow Mewtwo is still out there somewhere, and I won't have him using our parents for any more of his plans, but first, we need help from Moltres. We need the three aspects in balance or my corrupted self could come back out." Charonus looks into the eyes of his dream self. "I hope so too. The less the corrupted flame within us is used, the better..."

Draco and Cynder notice Charonus sleeping upon Bowser's back and fly closer to him. "Careful with your speed Bowser, Charonus is sleeping now." says Cynder. Bowser slows down some in response, "I kinda figured, but wasn't too sure." Draco sighs a bit, "I'm worried about what has transpired...the whole bit with Team Rocket, and now Shadow Mewtwo. What is even more scary is that Charonus seems to be getting more powerful with that corrupted flame." Cynder looks down a bit, "Yes, that is worrying, but strangely, he is also getting more reserved with it, having it focused more. I wonder what it all could mean?" As the group continues to converse with eachother, they get closer to land, and the little town of Pallet. "I see land now. Looks like a small town there." Cynder says. "I think it would be a good idea to rest there while we wait for Charonus to recouperate." Bowser and Draco nod. As the group reaches shore, they see a person in a white lab coat look up in their direction. "Well now, looks like we have some more Pokemon visitors, and interesting ones at that." The person comes closer, then spots the sleeping Charmander upon Bowser's back. He spots something about the Charmander that puts a look of worry upon his face. The person turns to the others and introduces himself. "I am Samuel Oak, a Pokemon professor. Now I'm not sure if you can understand what I say, but that Charmander has me worried." Cynder nods to Professor Oak, "We can understand you Professor, and we may know why you are worried about our Charmander friend..." Professor Oak, surprised to see that this strange Pokemon before him can speak human language, begins to tell the group what he has seen about Charonus. "This Charmander is no ordinary one. I'm afraid the flames of corruption have affected him. The flames of corruption is something that is quite dangerous. Come to my lab and we shall talk more of this." The group nods, feeling like they can trust this person, and head to his lab in Pallet town.

The professor shows the group inside. Once inside he shows Bowser a place that he can set Charonus to rest while they converse. "Now then, what are these corrupted flames?" asks Cynder. The professor sighs some, "I only have limited knowledge myself on the matter, but it is a twisted flame that awakens in some fire type Pokemon due to traumatic events that they experience. Some fire types that succumb to the corrupted flame go completely insane from it, the flame burning their very essence at times. I have witnessed this happen only once...the Pokemon did not survive the ordeal." Cynder glances over at Charonus, "Is there any way that we can stop that from happening?" The professor shakes his head, "There is no known remedy for the corrupted flame I'm afraid...I don't have all the research necessary to help in a cure." He walks over to Charonus to take a closer look at him and notices something else. "Hmmm, that is quite strange. Eventhough he has the markers of the corrupted flame..." He points out a spot on Charonus' back that seems to have a darker hue than the rest of him, "...it appears to be in recession. If you would allow me, I would like to run some tests. I promise you that I will not hurt your friend." Cynder feels apprehensive at the professor's request. "I would prefer to see if Charonus would like to go through these himself first." Professor Oak nods, "I guess that would be wise. In the mean time I have other questions to ask of you three."

Professor Oak sits down in his chair nearby and looks over the three, "I can tell that you are a Charizard, but you other two...I have no information on what you are." As he says this, he picks up a nearby device and opens it up, pointing it at the group, hoping to gleam something about the other two possibly. The device beeps and a robotic voice responds to Draco, listing that he is a Charizard and listing a little about Charizards. When he points the device towards Bowser, something strange happens. It beeps and begins to speak again, "Koopa. Their shells are as stout as a Blastoise and they breath fire as hot as Charizards." The group looks at the device in shock, amazed it read Bowser like he was a Pokemon. "Wait a minute, I'm not a Pokemon, how can that device read what I am?" Oak looks at Bowser inquisitively, "I'm not sure. I have never heard of a Koopa before, and this device has tracked all of the Pokemon from the Pokeworld because of collaberation from the different regions." He scans Cynder and the device responds, "Twilight Storm, These dragon types are capable of controlling plasma as their breath attack. They primarily feed on fish." The group is impressed again, not sure how to react to the device. "Well, it is strange that this device read you to say the least, but at least I now know what you are." As he puts the device away, Charonus starts to wake up.

Charonus looks around groggily, wondering where he is now. "W-where are we?" He spots the group and sees a human sitting in a chair beside them. Draco walks over, "We are in Pallet Town, at a Pokemon professor's lab." Professor Oak slowly stands and approaches, "Welcome to my lab young Charmander. I am Samuel Oak, but most people call me the Pokemon Professor." He shows a calm smile to Charonus, who looks at the group unsure if he can trust the professor. "It's alright Charonus, this human is not going to harm you. Actually he wants to help with your current condition, but he must run some tests on you first. Will you let him?" Charonus thinks for a moment, then nods his approval. "What is he going to look for Cynder?" Charonus asks. "He just wants to see about that corrupted flame within you, and why it seems to be receeding." Charonus looks at Cynder confusedly. "Receeding, do you mean it's going away?" Cynder looks at Charonus with apprehension, "I don't know if we can say it's going away quite yet, just let the professor run his tests to find out what is happening first." Charonus nods again as Professor Oak sets up his equipment. "Now please remain still while I perform these tests, and we should be able to find out why this power within you is how it is."

The professor places his scanning equipment near Charonus and turns it on. A display next to the scanner comes to life, showing a Charmander silhouette and many different numbers. In the middle of the silhouette a glowing sphere is shown. Several markers point to that sphere, noting different aspects about it. Professor Oak looks over this information and is quite impressed with what he sees, "This is quite astonishing. I have never seen numbers like this before." Cynder looks over at the screen, trying to make sense of what is on there. "What is the info saying professor?" Professor Oak looks back at Cynder. "First, can I ask you a question? Has this Charmander been around the Kantonian legends by any chance?" Cynder looks at the professor, "Yes, he has been around three of the Kantonian legends. It was on the whim of the one called Mewtwo as to why we are travelling Kanto." Oak looks at Cynder, "I see, that is why I can see traces of ability no other Charmander has within him, and take a look at this here..." He zooms the scanner in on the sphere where more data is shown, as well as strange swirling aura. "Right here in the center of that sphere is the corrupted flame, but the strange thing is these other auras." He points to two smaller auras swirling around the center flame, one aura like an icy mist, the other like crackling lightning. "These smaller auras seem to be balancing the corruption somehow, but the seal seems to be incomplete. What legends have you seen?" Bowser speaks up, "We have seen Zapdos, as well as Articuno and are on our journey to try and reach Moltres within Mount Silver." Oak nods, understanding why Mewtwo has sent them on this quest. "I see, the legends are teaching this young Charmander and helping him overcome the corruption within. I wish you well in this endeavor." Charonus looks at Oak and speaks, "Thank you professor." Oak looks at Charonus and nods, "I may not be able to understand what Pokemon say, but I can tell that you are thanking me." The group smiles as they prepare to leave Oak's lab when they hear a loud sound close by.

"That sounds like it came from Route 1!" exclaims Professor Oak as he jumps up from the shock of the sound. The group rushes out to see smoke billowing from the north side of town and some Pokemon running into the town to escape whatever is causing the disturbance. "Professor, could you please look after Charonus while we check out what the disturbance is?" Charonus looks up at Cynder, "I want to go too." Cynder bends down to look at Charonus closely, "You still need to recover your strength some after what happened at Cinnabar. Please stay with the Professor while we take care of what is happening." Charonus relents and agrees to stay with Professor Oak, knowing that Cynder is right. He watches as his friends head towards Route 1.

On Route 1, Pokemon flee from fires that have sprung up due to a giant machine made up to look like a Charmander. "Are you sure this is going to bring that group here?" Asks Jessie. "They will come soon. Do-gooders can't resist helping out." says Meowth. The group shows up in front of this strange robot. "See, right on time." smiles Meowth. Bowser looks at the robot with disdain. "Hey, what is the meaning of this?" As Bowser finishes, the group begins to hear dramatic theme music come from the machine as the head of the Charmander mech slides up.

Prepare for trouble...

...and make it double!

"Oh great, not these guys again..." scoffs Draco. Jessie, James and Meowth looks down at the Charizard angrily. "Hey, we weren't finished yet." Jessie scorns. "How dare you interrupt our artistic masterpiece of a motto." says James. "That's right. Let's roast them." Meowth says. Team Rocket closes the head of their mech and turns its flamethrower on the group. The group dodges just in time and mounts a counterattack, but to no avail. "This thing is tough. We must stop it somehow." says Draco. Just then, the Charmander mechs claws extend out and grab both Cynder and Bowser. "Cynder, Bowser!" Draco yells out to his friends. "Bring the Charmander to us and we may let your friends go, but you better hurry, you don't want your friends to be roasted." Meowth says. Draco hesitates as he sees his friends try to break free of the mech, unsure of what to do in this situation.

Meanwhile, back in Pallet Town, Charonus paces back and forth inside Oak's lab. "I'm worried about my friends...I just wish I could make the professor understand my words somehow..." The Professor sees the worry in Charonus' movements and picks up a nearby device he has been working with. "I know I can't understand Pokemon language, but I'm hoping that maybe with this device that I might be able to." Charonus looks over after hearing the professor say this and walks up to him. "Huh? Do you want to try and help me with this?" asks Oak. Charonus nods, "Yeah, I kinda hope that this works..." Charonus gets near the microphone like device and speaks into it, "Professor, I'm really worried about my friends. Please let me go help them." The computer hooked up to the machine starts to translate. It takes a bit of time, but eventually the results are displayed on the monitor. The professor reads what was translated and looks back at the Charmander. "I promised your friend to watch over you, but if it is that important to you, let me follow. I just need to bring a Pokemon of my own first to help." Charonus is shocked to hear that the professor has finally understood him and does as he says. Once the professor grabs a nearby Pokeball, he and Charonus head out towards Route 1.

Draco watches with fear as the Charmander mech squeezes his friends in it's grip, "Better hurry, I'm losing my patience." Meowth's voice booms from the mech. "Draco, go find help, quickly." Cynder yells out to him, snapping him from his fear momentarily. Draco turns to run towards Pallett town when suddenly a large jet of water comes out of nowhere and slams into the mech, causing it to topple over and release Bowser and Cynder. Charonus runs up to his friends, "I hope you guys are alright." Bowser looks over at Charonus, "Huh, I thought you were waiting at the professor's lab." "I couldn't stand by and worry, I had to do something to help," Charonus looks at the mech, "And I see I came in time..." At that moment, the mech gets back to it's feet and looks around, "Hey, who hosed us?" says an irritated Meowth. The mech scans the area and spots a Blastoise headed right for it. "Whoa, Meowth, move us out of the way quick!" says Jessie worredly. "Too late Jess!" yells James as the Blastoise grabs hold tightly onto the mech. "Now Blastoise, use Reverse Seismic Toss. The Blastoise looks back at the professor and nods. The Blastoise starts to pick up speed as he spins the mech around, spinning faster and faster until the Blastoise releases, sending the mech high into the sky, "Looks like we're Blastoising off again!," says Team Rocket as they disappear into the distance in a flash. The professor asks the Blastoise to put the fires out as he turns to address the group. "I'm glad that everything worked out and we were able to arrive in time. If it wasn't for this Charmander here we might have been to late." The Blastoise finishes putting the fires out and turns toward the group with a smile.

"My wish is that someday that groups like that could live in balance with Pokemon, instead of trying to use them." Draco, Bowser and Cynder nod at this, "We do too Professor. What that group wants is power, and nothing good can come of that." Professor Oak nods, "Well I hope that your group makes it to Mount Silver safely, and please give my reguards to Moltres. Also be careful, there have been reports of high electrical activity at the top of the mountain, and a strange Pokemon was sighted by workers at Indigo Plateau not too long ago. I'm not sure if the incedents are related." Cynder nods, "Thanks for the heads up Professor, and maybe we will see you again later." Professor Oak smiles, "I hope to see you again as well. Safe travels friends." With that, the group turns to head off on their journey to Mount Silver, the Professor and his Blastoise waving goodbye to them.


	18. Chapter 18

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 18: The Mountain of Silver and Training by Fire**

As the group heads up Route 1, Draco takes a look at the map of Kanto. "Hmmm, looks like we have to head up to Viridian City, then head west along Route 22. Once we get to a small building there, we head along Route 28 to Mount Silver." The group looks into the direction they need to travel, seeing the looming mountain in the distance. "The weather does seem quite stormy," Bowser states as he takes note of the constant lightning seen at the top of the mountain. "Even from this distance, that does look like quite the intense storm." responds Cynder to Bowser's observation. Charonus climbs upon Bowser's shell to get a better look, "I have a funny feeling that that is no ordinary storm..." Cynder looks over at Charonus, "I think you may be right, Shadow Mewtwo said that he would be waiting at the top...I have a bad feeling about this." Charonus responds, "We must get there though, for me to at least train with Moltres." The group nods and sets out on their journey.

Meanwhile, at the summit of Mount Silver, Shadow Mewtwo looks down upon a small yellow mouse like Pokemon as it charges at him with a Volt Tackle attack. Shadow Mewtwo simlply sidesteps out of the way and looks at the human nearby. The human looks out at the other Pokemon he had with him, all easily defeated by Shadow Mewtwo. A nearby Charizard tries to stand once more, as well as a Blastoise, and a large plant like Pokemon. The human goes to tend to his Pokemon friends. "I see your bond is quite strong with this Pikachu, as well as your other Pokemon. But bonds were made to eventually break." Shadow Mewtwo's eyes shine purple as he directs his gaze towards the three Pokemon, their eyes shining the same purple color, as they slowly begin to walk towards Shadow Mewtwo. The human tries to stop the trio as they head closer, "It is useless, their minds belong to me now. The hidden resentment they have for you buried deep within their cores has been brought forth." With that, the Charizard turns and slashes at it's former friend, knocking the human backwards. The Pikachu sees this and rushes to his friends side.

"I bore with these feeble attempts, so I think I will let these three battle you." Shadow Mewtwo assumes a meditative pose as he saves his energy, using the bare minimum of his power to keep control over the three Pokemon. The human, looking at his friends being used by another, sighs and nods to his Pikachu. Pikachu nods back in understanding, protecting his partner as he goes to help his two other Pokemon up. A purple, cat like Pokemon with a split tail looks up into the humans eyes as he helps it up. He then goes over to a quite rotund Pokemon and helps it to regain it's strength. He nods to them, showing them what has happened. The two look at the situation, then back to their human partner, nodding in understanding. The battle rages on atop the mountain, worrying Moltres deep inside who eagerly awaits the arrival of young Charonus.

The group finishes their short trek over Route 1 and comes into view of Viridian City. "Looks like a nice place," remarks Draco. "We can't stay here for long though, we gotta get Charonus to Moltres in Mount Silver," Cynder says back. "I know, but it would be nice to maybe come back here after this is all over," Bowser chimes in. Charonus, sitting on Bowser's shoulder, simply nods. The group walks further into the town, eventually finding their way to Route 22. As the group traverses the somewhat short path, they see a human that is facing away from them in the distance. "Huh, looks like someone is up ahead," says Bowser. Charonus takes a look, seeing a somewhat tall human with brown spiky hair. Charonus is also able to take note of a small, black cat like Pokemon that has yellow ring patterns adorning it's body. "He has a Pokemon with him too," Charonus says. The Pokemon's ears perk up as it hears Charonus' voice. The human looks down at his Pokemon, "What's up Umbreon, is someone coming?" Umbreon faces in the direction that the group is coming from. "Hmmm, what do we have here, a strange group of Pokemon by the look of it." The human starts to walk towards the group slowly. "He's coming towards us," says Draco worredly. "Wonder what he wants?" questions Cynder. As the human gets close, he waves to the group, "So, what brings a group of Pokemon like you to this part of Kanto?"

Cynder looks at the human, watching him carefully, then responds. "We are headed with this young Charmander to Mount Silver to see Moltres." The human is taken slightly aback by this strange Pokemon before him that is able to speak his language. He composes himself, then lowers his head slightly, "Things are getting quite dangerous up on the mountain...if I were you, I would turn back now." Charonus huffs a bit of fire, slightly annoyed at being told to turn back once again from training himself. The human notices this annoyance. "Look, I'm just trying to help, injured Pokemon from the mountain have been seen coming to the Reception Gate up ahead in alarming numbers, and what is worse, one of my friends is up on the top of that mountain still from his self imposed training." The human scoffs a little at his statement, "Well, not so much as a friend as he is my rival, but I do worry about all the activity that is up there." Bowser looks the human straight in the face, "I'm sorry, but we must push on, or something worse could happen than that storm upon the mountainpeak." The human scoffs again, "What, like another Cinnabar incedent. None of you look even capable of pulling that off." Charonus looks at the human, a small bit of corrupted essence leaks out from him mentioning Cinnabar. The hair upon the Umbreon's back bristles up sharply and it lets out a small noise. "Huh, what is it Umbreon?" The human looks at his Umbreon, who points at Charonus. The human looks up at the Charmander upon Bowser's back and jumps back a bit. "W-what the...the corrupted flame!?" Bowser tries to calm Charonus as Cynder explains the situation to the human. "I-I see...that is why you must get there...but the danger still persists." He stands aside, letting the group through. "Help my friend please if he is still up there, and tell him that I said 'Smell ya later'."

The human walks away after the group enters the Reception Gate. The group looks around the interior of the small building and spots a board with directions to the different routes. They spot the way to Route 28 to the west exit, and as they head out of the small building, they unknowingly enter the senses of Shadow Mewtwo. "So, the group has finally arrived. This little game shall come to a close quite soon." The group passes a nearby cabin on their way to the entrance of the mountain. "Hmmm, I wonder who lives there, so far away from civilization," remarks Draco. "No time to wonder now buddy, Moltres awaits." Bowser tries to keep Draco's mind focused on their goal. The group eventually enters the cave, unknowingly passing through a barrier Shadow Mewtwo recently set up over the mountain, trapping them. "Let's hurry and find Moltres," Charonus says anxiously.

As the group traverses further into the cave structure within Mount Silver, a warm, almost gentle glow can be seen brightening the walls, as if it is a beacon telling them to come closer. As the group follows the glow, they start to hear a voice speaking to itself. "Hurry up...time is of the essence. Please get here Charonus, for I fear for the ones at the top and your help could save them." Cynder looks around, trying to determine where the voice is coming from, eventually realizing that it comes from the area of the glow. "I think Moltres is this way at the origin of the glow." Charonus gets agitated, "Then we should hurry." Charonus jumps off of Bowser's shoulder and charges ahead, eventually finding the Kantonian Firebird of Strength. Moltres looks down at the small Charmander that has run up to him. "Finally, you have arrived. I will have to cut the pleasentries short however, for as you may have seen from outside, Shadow Mewtwo has been causing mayhem."

Charonus hangs his head down and simply nods. The rest of the group manages to catch up to their Charmander friend. "We have seen the mayhem at the summit, even from Pallet Town, Master Moltres," says Cynder. Moltres looks at the group accomying the young Charmander. "I hardly consider myself a master, for I am unable to even prevent my home mountain from these atrocities that are taking place..." Moltres hangs his head some, but raises it again. "We have very little time to train Charonus, but I have devised a way to help with the short amount of time we have here." Charonus looks at Moltres with a questioning gaze. "How is your training going to be different?" Moltres locks eyes with Charonus, "First, bring forth your dream self, then I will explain the rest. Charonus does as instructed and waits.

"Now, this test will help you learn a powerful fire technique, but I warn you to only use it as a last resort, for the move itself will bring your fire to near nothing." Charonus looks at Moltres with some apprehension. Moltres, seeing this apprehension in Charonus, tries to reassure him that this is the right thing. "I understand that the fire within is important to the Charmander line moreso than any other, but I see within you a power that can withstand this test. Your own inner strength will help to see you through. Now, if you are ready, I shall impart to you the tech Burn Up." Charonus thinks for a moment, a little unsure if this will work, but eventually nods his approval. "Good, but this learning will be unlike the time you spent with the other legends. To learn this move effectively, you will literally have to bathe in my fires, withstanding them for a couple of minutes. The knowledge of the move will be imparted to you through my flame." Charonus nods in understanding, knowing that Mewtwo prepared him for such an event. Charonus places his clawed hand up and projects a Light Screen in front of himself. Moltres nods at this, "I see Mewtwo has prepared you well." He looks to the group, "Please take cover behind those rocks over there, this fire will be quite intense." Moltres points to a set of rocks near the entrance to his chamber. The group nods and does as instructed.

"Keep that Light Screen up as long as you can. I will be bathing you within my fires for ten minutes as I impart my strength to you." Charonus nods, "I am ready Moltres." With Charonus' approving words, Moltres begins to collect his fire, concentrating it into his very core. Once he gains sufficient power, he unleashes his own Burn Up attack aimed at Charonus. Charonus feels the fire slam directly into his Light Screen, pushing him back slightly as Charonus tries to withstand the force of the flames. "The group watches on from their cover. "What power Moltres has," marvels Draco. "Yes, but equally impressive is that Charonus seems to be able to withstand that power." Bowser remarks back. Cynder says nothing as she keeps her eyes on the training, eventually seeing the true purpose behind it. She begins to talk to herself. "I see...I didn't notice that with the other two, but I guess that is how they did it." As she watches, she sees bits of strange fire get past Charonus' Light Screen and pass into his chest. As this is happening, Charonus continues to hold his own against Moltres' fires.

"Keep it up, seven minutes left." Moltres keeps his fires trained on Charonus' dream form as Charonus resists the best he can. Around the five minute mark, the Light Screen starts to show cracks within its surface. "I must keep this up, I must prove my strength..." Charonus holds out his other hand to reinforce the Light Screen as Moltres increases the intensity of his flames further. The struggle reaches a breaking point near the one minute mark as Charonus falls to one knee trying to keep the barrier against the flames from shattering, but eventually the Light Screen breaks, but not before Moltres burns himself out and collapses, his fire gone from his body. The group runs over to the both of them and checks to see if they are alright. Moltres lays motionless, trying to reserve what strength he has left as Cynder tends to him. "I-I'm alright...Please check on Charonus..." Cynder shakes her head. "The others have this. I just want to make sure that you are alright." Moltres manages a weak smile at her kind words. "Thank you...before I go out completely, I must warn you. Passing into this mountain has sealed your group inside. Shadow Mewtwo placed a one way barrier upon the entire mountain, meaning that he wanted you to come in, but not leave." Cynder looks Moltres in the eye, "I promise you that we will stop him." Moltres nods before losing consciousness. Cynder joins the group tending to Charonus.

"Moltres says we are stuck in this mountain now..." she says to Bowser, Draco and Charonus. "Then it looks like we have no choice. Shadow Mewtwo wants a fight." Bowser says as he cracks his knuckles. "I want to pay him back for what he did at Cinnabar." Draco looks over at Bowser, "We gotta be careful, he could use his power to control us like he did to Charonus." Cynder looks at Draco, "That may be true, but he may also have other plans for us..." Charonus slowly returns to his Charmander frame, "I won't be used again...we must try to end this..." The group looks around and finds an exit just outside Moltres' chamber that appears to be a way up the mountain. "Let us hurry to the top." Charonus says as he begins to head out.

At the top of the mountain, the controlled Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur look at their former trainer and his Pikachu. The Espeon and Snorlax knocked out again as Shadow Mewtwo gloats at his near victory against the human. "Just give up, you have no hope to withstand my power." The human looks at his Pikachu, and they both nod together in understanding, not a word exchanged between them. "I see you have chosen oblivion, so be it." With that, shadow Mewtwo sends some of his power to the controlled trio and sends them to face the human and Pikachu in one final clash.


	19. Chapter 19

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 19: The Top of the Mountain and the Reclimation of What Was Lost**

The group slowly makes their ascent within Mount Silver, every step forward feeling more and more of Shadow Mewtwo's battle at the summit. As they ascend they also see the resident Pokemon of the mountain heading down, some carrying injured comrades, not knowing that they are unfortunately sealed within. "This is horrible...Shadow Mewtwo really has no reguard for others..." A saddened Cynder remarks as she observes the Pokemon trying to flee. This scene continues as they pass into the second floor of the mountain, seeing even more, larger Pokemon that have been caught up in the mayhem. A nearby giant bear like Pokemon spots the group as he helps usher some injured down to the first floor, "What are you Pokemon doing here, this area is dangerous. You should evacuate." Bowser looks over and shakes his head, "We can't do that...unfortunately escape is impossible for anyone in the mountain..." The bear Pokemon looks directly at Bowser, "What do you mean escape is impossible?" Cynder speaks up, "A barrier has been set up over the entire mountain, locking anyone still here inside." The bear Pokemon hangs his head, "We must find a way through. We must help all of the injured here." Draco and the others dig into their bags, "It may not be much, but we have medicines and berries here that may help." The bear Pokemon's eyes light up when he sees the supplies and thanks the group, "This should be able to help plenty for now until the barrier is lowered. Now I just hope the group Lord Moltres was speaking of gets here soon. This Ursaring would surely hope that what was said of the group is true." Charonus looks at the Ursaring and simply nods, "Lets hurry to the top and finish this so no others get hurt." The group leaves the Ursaring and heads on up to the third floor. The Ursaring cocks his head to the side, "Huh...was that them? Can a little Charmander really be our savior?"

As the group heads through the third floor, they see even more Pokemon that make their way down. As they pass the Pokemon, they hear the conversations talking about the mayhem up top, and the inspiration they have that this will be over soon from what Moltres has told the mountains residents. "Moltres sure has put a lot of faith in our group..." Charonus says. "Not only Moltres, but Articuno, Zapdos, and even Mewtwo. They see a power that can overcome this evil within the region." Cynder responds back. Charonus sighs a bit, "I hope that they are right to put their trust in me...considering what has happened already with me...my outbursts." Bowser rubs Charonus' head a bit, "Hey, don't worry so much, we'll be here to help you. Don't forget that." Charonus smiles some at Bowser's words.

Making their way to the fourth floor within the mountain, they see a horrid sight as many Pokemon here are worse off than the floors below. Many have singe marks from being struck by errant bolts of lightning and fire, lacerations from blade like leaves and vines, and many others look like they were tossed around by some unknown force. "How horrible..." Cynder remarks, saddened by the sight. A little Pokemon, whose skin looks like rock, comes over to the group. "I wouldn't head any further, a fierce battle rages on outside and we are having many troubles dealing with the casualties as is without worrying about any others getting hurt." Charonus jumps down and comes closer to the small Pokemon. "I'm afraid we must press onward...we are tougher than we look, and we also know the dangers of what is up there all too well." The small Pokemon steps back after hearing this, "Are you the ones that Lord Moltres foretold of? The ones who would ascend the mountain and defeat the evil in our time of need?" The group looks perplexed a bit. The small Pokemon looks at the group, "Forgive this small Larvitar, maybe I should explain." The Larvitar explains that Moltres recieved a message many months ago from Mewtwo, explaining that when the time came, the group before him would arrive and defeat Shadow Mewtwo. "It looks like the premonition was true, but please hurry. Things get worse by the moment." Charonus sighs, "Ever since I laid eyes on that abomination Shadow Mewtwo...I knew that he was no good. I'm even more determined now to take him out." The Larvitar nods, "I wish you well in your endeavor. The exit to the outside is through that passageway to the north. No Pokemon are out there now so it's just whatever is at the summit and your group." Charonus nods as the group makes their way to the outside passage. The Larvitar watches them leave with some hope in his heart, "Please be safe, and be victorious."

The group ascends the outside heights of the mountainside, eventually coming to a plateau before the summit ascent. "This is it...whatever is happening up there, we need to put an end to it." Charonus says quietly. The group witnesses powerful lightning bolts, flashes of fire, archs of water and razor like leaves flying in all directions. "I don't know about this guys...we may be outmatched." says Draco worredly. "I know things look grim, but think of all of those hurt Pokemon that need help, we just can't leave them here to suffer. Taking down Shadow Mewtwo may be the only way to lower the barrier preventing their escape." Cynder says as she tries to reassure her mate. "I for one want to have a crack at him for all he has done to not only our group, but to other innocents we have seen along the way." Bowser says with a hint of anger in his voice. Charonus takes the lead and begins the climb to the summit, slowly feeling the pressure exerted by Shadow Mewtwo's mere presence. "Almost there..."

The group eventually arrives to a very disturbing scene at the summit. A lone Pikachu stands in fierce battle against a fully evolved set of Kantonian starters. A human nearby lies helplessly on the ground, looking like he was battered by something powerful. Cynder rushes over to the human as the others run towards the Pikachu. "No. Stay away, they are too much!" The Pikachu yells out, shocking the three controlled Pokemon with a Thunderbolt attack. "I can barely hold them back!" Shadow Mewtwo looks to see who the Pikachu is yelling at and sees Charonus' group. "Like the Venomoth to a Fire-Types flame, you four have arrived into my trap." The Shadow Mewtwo smiles wickedly. "Now the real fun can begin." Shadow Mewtwo sends the controlled Pokemon at Draco, Bowser and Charonus, now ignoring the Pikachu. "No, my friends, don't fight for him, resist his control!" The three Pokemon ignore Pikachu's pleas as they charge up their attacks and aim them forth at Charonus' group. "Looks like we will have to fight them first if we want to make it to Shadow Mewtwo." Pikachu stands between the two groups. "Please, don't hurt my friends if you can help it. Try to knock them out and hopefully out of Shadow Mewtwo's... GAH!" Before the Pikachu can finish his thought, the trio of controlled Pokemon let loose their most powerful attacks, slamming into the Pikachu with such strength and ferocity that he is sent flying toward his human partner. Cynder manages to catch him and tries to help him out. "Don't worry, I'll help you," she says worredly as she tries to help the Human and the Pikachu.

The controlled trio locks eyes with the group and begins charging again. "How heartless, to use others to do your dirty work. I shall not let your evil go unpunished!" Charonus cries out, tears in his eyes. Fiery aura starts to envelop him slowly. "Don't tell me the corrupted flame is emerging again, not now." Bowser backs away from Charonus somewhat, but takes a closer look, Draco does as well. They both see something in Charonus' aura that piques their interest as three swirling mini auras focus upon the fiery aura and work to suppress the corruption. "I think this is different Bowser. I don't know how, but this may be in our favor." As the aura continues to emerge, the controlled trio sets their sights on Charonus. "Draco, Bowser, you two take on the Blastoise and Venusaur, the Charizard is mine." Charonus says as he slowly moves toward the Charizard. "Foolish youngling, do you think you can withstand the flames that I have empowered him with, flames that come from the very Pokecores I hold?." Charonus hears this and something inside him snaps, his subconscious self awakens and takes control, the aura that was slowly emerging finally bursting forth in a torrent of fire, coalescing into the form of a Charizard. "Shadow Mewtwo, enough of your taunting. Those Pokecores don't belong to you, and I WILL take them back!" Shadow Mewtwo laughs at this. "Then try to take them, if you can. Go my Charizard warrior, take that impudent whelp down." The Charizard, not saying a word, unleashes a fierce Fire Blast straight at Charonus. The attack seemingly hits it's mark, covering Charonus' form in heavy smoke that obscures his form. "CHARONUS, NO!" Bowser and Draco cry out.

As Draco and Bowser continue to worry about Charonus, the Blastoise unleases a Hydro Pump at Bowser and Venusaur unleashes a Solar Beam at Draco. "Watch out guys!," Cynder manages to yell out, warning them in time. "Keep focus on those ahead of you. I believe in my heart that Charonus is alright." Draco and Bowser, managing to avoid the duos attacks, nod back at Cynder and turn their attention to their respective opponents. Bowser stares down the Blastoise in front of him and cracks his knuckles. "I hate to attack those controlled by others, but this has to happen..." At the same time, Draco squares up to the Venusaur. The Blastoise and Venusaur begin their assault, coordinating their attacks against Draco and Bowser, using their abilities to try and isolate them from eachother. Draco and Bowser try to counter the best that they can, but get blocked at every turn. "These two are tough...how are we supposed to take them down?" questions Draco as he avoids another duo attack. "I'm not sure, but we must think of something fast!" exclaims Bowser as he dodges oncoming attacks as well.

Meanwhile, the Charizard walks forward into the smoke that still obscures Charonus, searching for the aura powered Charmander. Charonus, taking that Fire Blast head on, tries to recover a little. "The power in that attack, he's using my parents power against me, and that will not stand." Charonus lays low and waits for the Charizard to get closer as he uses Charge to power himself up. "A good Zap Cannon should buy me enough time, but I need to get him closer..." Charonus continues to look around, eventually spotting the purple glow coming from the controlled Charizard's eyes. He sits and waits for his moment to strike, and when the Charizard gets close enough, Charonus unleashes the attack. "I hate to do this, but I have no other choice. Take this Zap Cannon!" Charonus manages to hit the Charizard squarely, paralyzing its body and sending it toppling over, the force from its landing clearing the smoke away from the pair. Charonus stands up and surveys the area, seeing that Draco and Bowser are managing just enough against their opponents. Charonus then locks eyes with Shadow Mewtwo. "I shall reclaim those Pokecores that were stolen from my parents. I will defeat you and the evil you have stood for and free the Kanto area from your tyranny." Shadow Mewtwo merely scoffs. "Your strength is finite, your knowledge lacking, and your bravery fleeting, but by all means, try to take the cores back. In the end I will be adding your power to my cause one way or another."

Meanwhile, Cynder manages to get the human and Pikachu back on their feet. "T-that friend of yours sure is something...I can see it in his aura. It's not every day that you see a first form with such power in their core, even managing to take the appearence of their final evo." the Pikachu sluggishly says to Cynder. "Yes, he is quite something for one so young, but he has had help along the way, with us and the Kantonian legends helping him." The Pikachu looks at her, shocked. "He's had guidance from the Kantonian legends themselves?!" Cynder smiles and nods, "They have seen the potential, and also the danger within his frame and tempered it, albeit not completely." The Pikachu nods, "Then I shall lend him aid in this endeavor, in any way I can." Cynder shakes her head, "You must rest, you're still pretty beat up. If you try to help, you may wind up getting more injured than you are now." The Pikachu thinks for a moment, looking at his trainer who simply nods. He then finally decides to heed Cynder's words. "You are right, even my trainer can see it. Despite him not speaking, I can feel his emotions telling me that this is no longer my fight, but I can still give my support in other ways...I just hope that everything will turn out ok." Cynder smiles a bit, "It will, if we just believe in those that are fighting right now."

As Bowser's and Draco's battle continues, the pair starts to show signs of fatigue. "T-these two are really strong...and with Shadow Mewtwo able to control their movements, this is an uphill battle." says Draco as he tries to catch his breath. Bowser, getting really annoyed with the situation, nods at Draco's words. "These two are getting on my nerves...but we can't hurt them too much, they are only being controlled. Deep down I know that they don't want to do this." Cynder, eventually telling the Pikachu and trainer to take cover, joins Bowser and Draco. "Then maybe I can be of assistance. Charge up your fire breath and get ready for my mark." Hearing Cynder, the two charge up their Flamethrower attacks as she charges her own Plasma Burst. The Blastoise and Venusaur draw closer, charging their own attacks. "Wait for my mark, and strike them where it counts. Control your power and make sure to only knock them out." Bowser and Draco nod at Cynder's words. Cynder waits for the perfect opportunity, just as the controlled duo begins to unleash their attacks. "NOW, give it everything you got!" Cynder unleases her Plasma Burst at the ground at the duos feet to obsure their view and make them misfire. Draco and Bowser then unleash their full force Flamethrowers, hitting the pair squarely and easilly knocking them out of the fight. The group looks around and spots Charonus locked in combat with Shadow Mewtwo. "Charonus! Just hold on, we're coming to help!" Charonus shakes his head, "No, he's mine. Let me finish this myself!"

Shadow Mewtwo smiles, "Let's see if your balance can take me down, whelp" Charonus, infuriated by Shadow Mewtwo's taunting, rushes forward and tries to use Slash on him, but Shadow Mewtwo simply sidesteps. "Unpleasent, so much for your training. Looks like you learned nothing." Charonus, still enraged tries again and again to hit Shadow Mewtwo, but to no avail. "Charonus, calm yourself, you're letting him get to you again!" Cynder calls out to him, hoping to calm him down. "Please, think for a moment, don't let him get to you!" Draco turns to Cynder, "We gotta go help him, he's not seeing clearly." Bowser nods, "Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" The group nods to eachother and starts rushing over to the battle. Shadow Mewtwo, noticing this, uses his psychic energy to repel the group from interfering. "You three will wait your turn, I shall get to you shortly." He refocuses on Charonus, who is now taking a moment and listening to Cynder's words. "He knows my weaknesses and keeps using them against me. I must remain calm..." Charonus focuses inward, seeing his subconsious self. "I must focus on this power within and bring it forth to aid me." As Charonus focuses, some other shapes materialize within his mind around his subconsious self, his friends, the legends, and even his parents gather round. "I understand, those Pokemon and others are a part of me, just as I am now a part of them." Shadow Mewtwo smiles, seeing an opening as Charonus reflects inward. Shadow Mewtwo forms blades from his dark psychic energy and rushes at Charonus. "I will bring you sleep eternal and claim your core as my own. You are foolish to ignore me." The group sees this and rushes to try and aid Charonus again, but they are too late as it looks like Charonus gets struck by the Psycho Cut attack. Shadow Mewtwo smiles while the group looks on in horror, but both parties eventually realize that Charonus managed to raise a Reflect up at the last moment.

Charonus looks at Shadow Mewtwo, his emerald eyes shining brightly, "You were saying? As long as I draw breath, you shall never claim my core." Shadow Mewtwo charges up, using the energy from the cores in his posession and tries to fire a point blank Fire Blast shot at Charonus. "You are nothing but a weak Charmander! I shall incinerate you where you stand!" Charonus thinks quickly and unleashes an upward slashing Dragon Claw to Shadow Mewtwo's jaw just as he lets the Fire Blast go, sending it straight into the sky instead. Charonus then backs away, joining the group. "I was losing myself again...sorry guys." Draco looks at Charonus, "We are just thankful that you remembered that you have friends that will help you." Charonus nods, "Then help me take this evil down once and for all." Bowser grins, "Gladly, he's caused too much trouble, not only for us, but for the people and Pokemon of this region." Cynder simply nods. Charonus looks over at Shadow Mewtwo. "Now we end this!" Shadow Mewtwo looks back at the group and sees a sight that instills fear into him. Not only does he see the group, but he also sees the Kantonian legends standing behind them. "What?! What is this?!" Shadow Mewtwo shrugs off this hallucination and looks again, only seeing the group now. "You won't win, I shall defeat you all!" Losing his composure, Shadow Mewtwo powers up and charges one last attack, seeing this as his only recourse to defeat the group. Charonus sighs, "Now who is the fool, all of that power and no balance. That is your downfall."

Shadow Mewtwo continues to charge, his power causing the ground to quake. Charonus instructs the group to quickly charge their most powerful attacks. "Wait for my mark and attack when I do. We must focus and hit him as hard as we can." The group nods, Draco charging a Fire Blast, Bowser charging Flamethrower and Cynder charging her Plasma Burst. Charonus focuses inside again and starts charging energy in not only his maw, but also in each of his clawed hands. "May the Kantonian legends guide my strength." Charonus' right hand glows with an icy blue glow while his left shows a pulsing,crackling electric yellow glow. In his maw, a fiery orange glow appears. Shadow Mewtwo finishes his charging and unleashes his attack. "You are finished! I will shatter your psyche and eclipse you in a black hole for all eternity! NOW PERISH!" Charonus and the group finish charging and on Charonus' signal, unleash their combined attacks. "Not today Shadow Mewtwo. Today we will vanquish your evil forever!" The groups attacks collide with the attack of Shadow Mewtwo's, creating quite the spectacle to behold. Neither side looks to be able to overcome the others for several moments until Shadow Mewtwo puts more power into his attack, disrupting the struggle and sending the energy back at the group. "We must hold on, put everything you have into it!" Charonus pleads. The nearby human and Pikachu look on at this sight, the human eventually nodding to the Pikachu as he returns his other Pokemon to their Pokeballs for safe keeping. "Don't worry, I will take care. I can't just sit by and not help them. Kanto's survival rests in this groups claws." With that the Pikachu leaves his human partner and stealthfully gets into a position behind Shadow Mewtwo. "I sure hope this works...if not we are doomed."

Pikachu takes aim and charges up his Volt Tackle, "May my aim be true and my strength enough to disrupt his focus." Pikachu rushes into Shadow Mewtwo with the speed of a lightning bolt and manages to hit him squarely in the shoulder, throwing off Shadow Mewtwo's balance. Charonus sees this and instructs the group to use their full power, "NOW, Give it everything you got!" Charonus focuses inward and channels his corrupted flame for a quick moment. "You want my corrupted power, then take it. It ends here!" The groups attacks, being fueled by the extra power from Charonus, start to overcome Shadow Mewtwo's attack. Shadow Mewtwo tries to regain focus, but is unable to overcome this stronger force in front of him. Shadow Mewtwo makes a last ditch effort by bringing up a Light Screen, but it's too little too late as the groups attacks slam into him with a force that begins to tear him apart. "No, how can this be?! I'm supposed to be the most powerful!" The groups attacks rip through Shadow Mewtwo and eventually vaporize him, leaving only several Pokecores behind. Charonus and the group collapse from exhaustion, but happy to see that Shadow Mewtwo is gone. Charonus' aura returns to it's normal state, reverting him back to his Charmander frame. A pair of crystal like orbs slowly rolls towards Charonus and stops in front of his face as he lays on the mountaintop. He looks at the crystalline orbs. "Can it be?" As he gazes deeper, he eventually sees the smiling faces of his parents within. Charonus eventually loses consciousness.

The Pikachu and his trainer come over to the group and help them to recover. The Pikachu smiles at Charonus as he wakes. "Shadow Mewtwo is gone, and I believe that these are yours." He holds out the pair of Pokecores to Charonus. "They are quite the powerful Charizard cores. Not even my Charizard friend has power like what I feel in these." Charonus reaches out and takes the cores. He begins to cry a little. The group, slowly recovering their strength as well, gathers around Charonus. "Charonus? Are you ok?" questions Cynder. "I'm just fine...I'm finally reunited with my parents...they are right here with me, and will always be with me." Charonus continues to stare into the orbs he holds in his claws, but eventually snaps out of it for a moment after seeing his pendant sway from his neck. He smiles and slips the cores into their respective slots in the pendant. "We are together, now and forever." The group watches this and smiles.


	20. Chapter 20

**Kanto Saga**

 **Chapter 20: Crossing the Falls to a New Adventure**

All over Kanto, human and Pokemon alike lock their gaze on Mount Silver as the storm at the top arrives to a fever pitch. At Pallett town, Blue watches with worry. "Whatever is going on, I just hope that group of strange Pokemon makes it out of this alright." Blue stares down at his Umbreon companion, then back to the mountain. The Umbreon jumps onto its trainers shoulder and lets out a cry of worry.

Over at the Cerulean Cave, many of the Pokemon of the cave come out to watch the spectacle, even the starter clones and Mewtwo himself. "I know you can win Charonus, just remember your training." Mewtwo says to himself as he keeps his gaze locked on the mountain.

At the Powewr Plant, Zapdos floats overhead, watching and waiting. "Please be alright, don't let my training be in vain."

At Seafoam, all the Pokemon there come with Articuno and watch the spectacle unfold, hoping in their hearts that things will turn out for the better. "May knowledge be your guide, find the correct path to victory."

Even Moltres within Mount Silver itself feels the ensuing battle. "Please young Charmander, overcome this trial and prove that strength of balance can perservere."

At the Charizard Shrine, the old caretaker looks towards the Mountain of Silver with anticipation. Another Zard comes in to meet with him. "Caretaker, what is happening in Kanto? This power is something that I have never felt before." The caretaker looks at the young Zard. "The fate of Kanto is being decided. Salvation or annihilation is on the line. I hope for the side of salvation. It must win out over the dark force that threatens the region."

The ground all over the Kanto region begins to quake as the power displayed at the summit reaches a breaking point, then in a mere flash, it ends. The skies over the summit, once heavilly stormy and foreboding, are now crystal clear. The barrier preventing entry and exit from the mountain dissipates and an onrush of Chansey, seemingly called from out of nowhere, begins tending to those Pokemon that are injured. Several Pokecenter nurses stands in wait at the Reception Gate to recieve the wounded.

Feeling a sense of urgency, the Kantonian legends make their way to the summit, and from the Charizard Shrine, the caretaker lifts off and heads to the mountain as well, "Take care of things while I'm gone." He smiles and leaves, eventually meeting up with Mewtwo and the other legends. "I see you have felt it as well old friend. The air of calm that has settled. I believe that the young one has succeeded." The caretaker smiles, "I do have that feeling Mewtwo, lets hurry to his side." With that, the quartet of Pokemon goes and meets up with Moltres before heading to the summit.

Charonus continues to look at his pendant that now contains the Pokecores of his parents. He closes his eyes and reflects inward, meditating to reach his dreamscape. The Charizard within his mind comes into view, surrounded by their mother and father. The two look at their Charmander son as he comes closer. "We are proud of you son, you managed to overcome the darkness within and without." His father gives him a claw up. His mother comes over to him and hugs him tight. "I knew you would turn out a strong Charmander, and if you keep on your journey, I have no dought that you will be quite the Charizard." Charonus blushes at his mothers words. On the outside, the Kantonian legends arrive with the Charizard caretaker and survey the area. They eventually spot the group, as well as the human and Pikachu. Mewtwo walks over to Bowser, Cynder and Draco. "So, I see that you have made it out of the battle." Draco smiles, still a little exhausted from his ordeal, "Y-yeah...I was kinda worried that we may have not of made it out of that, but I can't put my claw on what happened to turn the tide in our favor." The Pikachu makes his way over and bows to Mewtwo, he then looks at Draco, "It was I, risking myself, I Volt Tackled Shadow Mewtwo and broke his concentration. It was a calculated risk that I was willing to take." Cynder lowers her head, "It was foolish, but it worked in the end, thank you."

As the group continues to converse, the Charizard caretaker spots Charonus, just as he exits his meditative state. "I see that you have overcome the great evil young one." Charonus looks over and smiles. "Yes, and I got to reclaim what I lost...what was taken from me so long ago." He looks down at his pendant again. "We will never be apart ever again." The Charizard caretaker leans down and takes a look at the pendant. He sees something in the right orb that shocks him. "May I ask you, where did you get that orb, the orange one." Charonus looks up at the caretaker, somewhat puzzled. "This is my mother's Pokecore, why do you ask?" The caretaker starts to tear up a little. Charonus worries a little as he sees this. "Hey, what's the matter?" Without saying a word, the caretaker lifts Charonus up and hugs him close. "H-hey, what is this about?" The caretaker looks into Charonus' eyes, "I had a feeling when we met all those months ago, but now I know it to be true. You are my grandson Charonus." Charonus gazes back at the caretaker, unsure of how to respond. "That Pokecore that you hold is my daughters core." Charonus thinks back some and remembers something, "Wait...how did you not know that I was your grandson, I pointed my parents statues out to you at the shrine back then." The caretaker shakes his head some, "Ummm...to tell you the truth, I didn't see who you were pointing to...so I never even connected the pieces until now." Charonus gives himself a faceclaw as he hears this. "Grandpa...that is so silly of you."

The human looks on at this sight and and smiles a bit, knowing that a great victory was achieved today. He motions over to Pikachu to come over to him. The Pikachu feels the words that his partner wants to communicate to him, "Are you sure? Shall I teach him that?" The human nods. "Alright Red, if that is your wish." The Pikachu heads over to Charonus and the caretaker. The caretaker looks over, "Hmmm? Is there something you need my Pikachu friend?" The Pikachu looks at Charonus, "This is more for him right now. My partner wants me to give the young Charmander a final bit of Kantonian training." The caretaker smiles, "Ah, then I shall not keep you. Train my grandchild well." The Pikachu commenses training Charonus in the use of Volt Tackle while the others wonder what is next for their group. "So, where do we go from here Mewtwo?" asks Cynder. Mewtwo asks Cynder to show him a map. She does as asked and Mewtwo shows to them their next destination, "As you get off of this mountain, head back to the Reception Gate and head to the southern exit. Once there, follow the path to the Tojho Falls, there you will enter the neighboring region to ours, Johto." Draco asks, "And that is where we will find more legends?" Mewtwo responds, "Yes, I have sent word ahead and they are expecting you. Although I couldn't seem to get hold of the one called Lugia. He may be in hibernation. I wouldn't worry too much about it."

Charonus eventually finishes his quick training session with Pikachu, impressing the little mouse Pokemon with his quick progress, "Now remember, this will drain your energy quickly if you use it for too long." Charonus nods, "I understand full well, and thank you, to both you and your partner. Oh, before I forget, a brown haired human with an Umbreon told me to tell you two that he will 'Smell ya later'. I really don't know what he means by that." Both the human and Pikachu facepalm at the same time. "I see...he's worried about us, even though he wont come up here and say it..." The Pikachu heads back to his partner, "Take care young Charmander, maybe I will see you again sometime." Charonus smiles as the pair leaves the summit.

The Charizard Caretaker comes over to Charonus once again with Mewtwo. "All done with the Pikachu's training?" Charonus looks up and smiles, "Yeah, for now." Mewtwo smiles, "Good, as for what is next, the others have been informed that your next destination is Johto, our neighboring region to the west." Charonus looks towards the west, "A new region and new legends to train with. I'm up for the challenge." Charonus' grandfather smiles, "don't forget about your roots though. You are part of a strong line of Charizards and I hope that one day a statue of you can be put in our halls." Mewtwo looks at his old friend. "One step at a time my friend. Charonus still has a long way to go on his journey." Charonus nods and rejoins the group. "I guess it's time to get going." The group turns and heads down the mountain, greeted again by some of the Pokemon they saw on the way up. Their smiling faces making them feel quite happy. Once back at the Reception Gate, the group heads the way that Mewtwo showed them. "This is going to be an interesting experience, leaving my home region." remarks Charonus. The group eventually reaches the Tojho falls and passes through to the other side, seeing a quaint little town, and the start of another adventure.


End file.
